Equity in Education

Presented by:
Teo, Akmal, Abby, Lexley, Mohan, VP
 Definition
• Equity – The quality of being fair and impartial.
• Gender Equity (International Labour Office [ILO], 2000) =
fairness of treatment for women and men, according to their
respective needs.
• This may include equal treatment / treatment that is different but
which is considered equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, obligations
and opportunities.
 Gender Discrimination
• Most gender bias is against women in the developing countries,
where cultural and societal stigma continue to hinder growth and
prosperity for women.
• Forms of discrimination
• Harassment
• Low restorations to freedom
• Lack of opportunities
 4A Framework
• Developed by United Nations Special Rapporteur Katarina
Tomasevki
• Fundamental institution of education
• Availability
• Accessibility
• Acceptability
• Adaptability
Causes of Gender Discrimination in Education

• Community Level Obstacles

• Bias displayed for education external to the school environment.
• Restraints due to poverty, child labour, social-economic constraints, lack
of parental involvement, and community participation
• Cultural hindrances = child marriage & predetermined gender roles
 Causes of gender discrimination in education

• School and Education System Level Obstacles

• Lack of investment in quality education
• Inappropriate attitudes and behaviours
• Lack of female teachers as role models
• Lack of gender-friendly school environment
 Equity in higher education:
• To prepare students for the employment market
and active citizenship both nationally and
internationally
• Ensure that, they acknowledge experiences and
values of all students.
 Prerequisite-
Grades, co-
curricular
achievement

Welfare
Higher Knowledge
Education and facilities

Books and
activities
 Racial Equity in Education
• Racial equity in education means the assignment of students to
public schools and within schools without regard to their race.
This includes providing students with a full opportunity for
participation in all educational programs regardless of their race.
 In US
• Education provides clear indicator of racial inequities on variety of
institutional and structural level.
• Youth of colour have experienced poor outcomes relative to their white
counterpart historically an these deep disparities persists today.
• Examples:
• Graduation rates
• Incidences of discipline
• Pathways from high school to vocational training, college and universities
 In Malaysia
• Racial quotas
• In 1973, the government run an action program, setting a quota of 55%
of university places for Malays and the remaining 45% for Chinese and
Indian students.
• After the abolishment of the race quota, matriculation was introduced as
an alternative for STPM. This results unhappiness among the Chinese
and Indian. It has come under criticism for being easier than STPM and
serve as an easier education path for bumiputera.
• On the other hand, the Malaysian government have done significantly well in
providing fair and just education in primary school level especially to those
non-bumiputera.
• For example, the government have built the SJK(C) for the Chinese and
SJK(T) for the Indians on the basis of maintaining their culture and mother
tongue. Even so, other races can still attend those schools.
• The government also take the initiative to keep the SKM (Sekolah Kurang
Murid) in the rural area even though those schools have poor students
enrolment.
Thank you
