Sunday Star, Sunday May 11, 2008
A mission to serve

I REFER to “Schools need more help“ (SundayStar, April 20) . The writer defends the RM1 quit rent imposed on mission schools and appeals for more help for all government-assisted schools, which is commendable.

However, I found one paragraph in the letter disturbing. It says: “ The Education Ministry is using our buildings and lands to operate government schools without paying any rental to our mission authorities which own the land and buildings.”

It raises the question: To whom do the mission schools belong?

In my opinion, mission schools belong to the community which they serve.

This is because the land was granted to the missions by the government of the day for the sole purpose of building schools to provide for the education of children.

The buildings, too, were largely put up with government funds and public donations, with or without contributions from the missions.

Service to the community was the prime reason for the existence of these schools.

Should the missions think of themselves as owners or custodians of these schools?

In my opinion, they are the custodians and should strive to preserve these great institutions and all that they stand for, with no regard to their monetary value.

If they consider themselves as owners, they would attach an economic value to these institutions, hence the idea of rental would surface.

Worse still, some may be tempted to sell off these schools. That would be disastrous for our education system.

I am sure we have not forgotten that the Ipoh Convent was said to have gone through the initial stages of sale, only to be saved.

This was not because of a public outcry, but rather, the economic downturn that caused the school to lose its attractiveness as a commercial enterprise.

AN EYE-OPENER

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