KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 — The Malaysian education system must improve to allow better opportunities for children to succeed in life, said Fugee School co-founder Deborah Priya Henry.

She said her wish during Universal Children’s Day was for children to be given equal opportunities to reach their full potential.

Henry said the Malaysian school syllabus needed to be revamped for this to be achieved.

"It is obsolete. In this day and age of internet and technology, every other sector has evolved to incorporate these elements but the education system has not,” she said.

"It is archaic and needs restructuring. Schools must decentralise the classroom structure and allow children to learn based on topics of interest.

"We don’t just want graduates but successful and intelligent individuals who will do well in the ever-changing world,” said Henry.

The former beauty queen behind the school for refugee children in Malaysia since 2009, said the same concept applied to the refugee community.

"Education is a right, and it has the power to change lives, communities and nations.

"In terms of access to education, Malaysia has made progress but it largely comes from the private sector through scholarships and funding.

"We need a sustainable development goal that will not only better our children’s lives but also the ones who have come under our wing. It is our responsibility,” she added.

Henry said the cooperation of those in the government, private and education sectors was crucial in presenting children with quality education.

"We must consider what we are preparing our children for. Learning approaches need to change and we must understand that every student learns differently.

"In order to fully grasp this we must work together to build a society that loves knowledge and education.”

Henry said in addition to revamping the current syllabus, teachers also needed to be appreciated more and equipped with better teaching tools.

She said teachers are often overlooked but they are a country’s biggest asset and must be provided with proper training and sufficient resources to do their job well.

"We cannot achieve our goals without the help of teachers.

"As we remember children today, let’s also remember the teachers who work hard for them.”

Fugee School has a current enrolment of 160 refugee students, aged four to 20 years, with 10 staff.

The school recently started providing classes up to O-Levels.