MELAKA, June 26 ― Young leaders around the world must fight for education to become available for everyone in their country particularly the youth, said Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
He said young leaders must lobby their government, create alliance with non-governmental organisations and establish smart partnership with private sectors in making education a reality for all.
Khairy stressed that education is the fundamental right for everyone and nobody has the right to take that away.
“Sadly education has been denied for people in several parts of the world, so it is our duty as young leaders to rise and fight to change this,” he said when closing the 14th World Assembly of Youth (WAY) International Youth Dialogue here last night.
Also present were WAY president Datuk Seri Idris Haron, who is also Melaka Chief Minister, and more than 100 participants from WAY member countries such as Indonesia, Namibia, Ecuador as well as Malaysia.
The three-day dialogue themed, Youth and Education: Taking Action, Getting Results, started last Monday.
Khairy said education is a great leveller in life, hence why it is vital for the people.
“No matter what type of education you have, religious, vocational or conventional, it will give you an opportunity to succeed in life, so my beloved young friends we must fight so that no child is left behind in this pursuit,” he said.
He said building schools and filling classrooms was not the only yardstick in giving education to the people, who should have access to quality education.
“What is the use of putting hundreds of children into a classroom with an untrained teacher or the classroom lacks teaching tools or most important of all, it lacks books ― it will not work.
“High quality education is a must-have by making sure the student-teacher ratio is correct, the teachers are trained, the classrooms are in good condition and there are lots of books for the children to read in order to gain knowledge,” said Khairy. ― Bernama
