JOHOR BARU: Educators play a major role in strengthening unity and instilling stronger racial bonds among the younger generation, especially pre-schoolers in order to eliminate racial segregation.
Johor Unity and Human Resource exco R. Vidyanathan said early childhood education could make an impact on how children view the importance of unity and spirit of togetherness.
“Quality basic education can almost assure a child’s success in higher education as the development of a child is most critical during the early stages of childhood.
“Thus, educators can also make a difference on young children’s outlook on unity and the vitality of racial tolerance in a multi-cultured community like ours,” he said when reading a speech on behalf of Mentri Besar Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin during the Early Childhood Education on Unity Conference here yesterday.
Vidyanathan added that while racial segregation was not significant in primary schools, it had been a growing concern at the secondary school level.
“Back in the old days, there was very minimal racial segregation between the major races in the country, but unfortunately times have changed and sometimes racial sentiments seem to take the best out of us.
“We hope that by boosting racial tolerance and acceptance between younger children, racial peace and harmony can be further enhanced within the community,” he said.
The programme, which saw the participation of more than 800, mostly educators from pre-schools statewide, was organised by the state’s National Unity and Integration Department in line with the Malaysia Education Blueprint (PPPM) 2013-2015