The connection between missing school and Indigenous community: challenges and complexities

Abstract

This commentary elaborates on the issues pertaining to absenteeism among Indigenous children and explores their perceived challenges and complexities. The qualitative study focuses on the Malaysian Semaq Beri Indigenous community, with 1 of the 19 Orang Asli (the Indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia). Data were collected via semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that despite various initiatives and incentives by the government to increase access to education, their acceptance of the modern education system is still limited, caused by a complex set of underlying factors: distance to school, lack of transportation assistance, less commitment to modern education, enclave cultural demand, socio-economic disparity, and lack of technology readiness. The study recommends more horizontal and vertical policy-making strategies to inculcate a culture of lifelong learning among the young Indigenous generation. These are seen as preconditions to success through consolidating and sustaining the Indigenous community’s cultural beliefs with current education policies.