'Good teachers, facilities can entice non-Malays to national schools'

National schools should have good teachers and facilities to entice non-Malay students, said government's social and cultural affairs adviser Tan Sri Dr Rais Yatim.

He said the two factors were important in order to strengthen national reconciliation as nation building would be stifled if races did not get along with each other.

"Without good teachers and facilities, how can we attract Chinese and Indian students to go to national schools? If their schools are better equipped, they will think it is better to study at their schools," he said.

He was speaking to reporters at the three-day 12th National Seminar of the Institutions of Higher Learning's Deans Council 2013 themed 'Driving Education Transformation Plan' at International Islamic University Malaysia here today.

On criticism against the National Education Blueprint 2013-2025 hurled by United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong), Rais said engaged them in discussions to hear their views.

On the seminar, Rais, who is also IIUM president, said it could be a conduit to fine-tune the National Education Blueprint by gathering ideas and proposals from deans of local universities.