Curriculum in Alternative Learning Center: A Case Study in Mabul Islam, Sabah

Abstract

Education is an individual right that must be fulfilled and given to every individual. However, the provision of education in a country depends on the laws in that country. In Malaysia, the provision of education is based on the 1996 education act which emphasizes the right to education for those who have identity documents with citizenship status only. Therefore, the existence of other education besides national education, which is alternative education. This study wants to know the curriculum of alternative learning centers available on Mabul Island. The research methodology used is a qualitative approach with interview and observation methods used in this study. The location of this study is Mabul Island, Semporna. The results of the study found that there are five alternative learning centers on Mabul Island with founders consisting of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private individuals and the local community. The curriculum at this learning center uses national curriculum subjects but the syllabus for the subjects is not provided by the government but is provided by the teaching staff themselves. The goal of establishing this alternative learning center itself is to provide education at the basic level only, which is the knowledge of reading, writing and counting (3M). However, they still use educational references available in Malaysia. Next, the teaching and learning schedule is carried out from Monday to Sunday where Monday to Thursday is the normal learning center and Friday to Sunday is madrasah time which starts from 7.00 am until 11.00 am for the morning session and for the afternoon session will start at 1.00 pm until at 4.30 pm. Alternative education has provided opportunities and opportunities to get an education and improve life in the future. Therefore, the accuracy of the curriculum implemented in the alternative learning center will affect the success of the educational program implemented on Mabul Island. Self-skills are very important in terms of survival in the context of stateless children and can ultimately help these children survive with their skills.