In Sabah’s Shadows, Stateless Children Fight For Education In Alternative Learning Centres

KOTA KINABALU, March 1 — On the outskirts of the city here, children could be seen happily milling about in their uniforms in a building that for all intents and purposes is a school.

However, this place is different from a public school barely a kilometre away — which is equipped with multi-level classrooms, labs, and a field. In fact, the public school is off limits to these children.

Lacking proper identification documents, these children are stateless and are therefore unable to attend public schools.

So they attend Etania — one of the several hundreds of educational institutions known as alternative learning centres (ALC) — filling this educational gap for tens of thousands of children of migrant families, living in the shadows while carving out a life in Sabah.

Unofficial estimates of the migrant population in the state are up to a million, and of that, children may make up as many as to 30,000.

Etania has some 12 alternative learning centres around Sabah, catering to the many marginalised children who are left out of the Malaysian education system. — Picture by Julia Chan

The spectrum of ALCs

However, not all ALCs fit the same mould. Across the state, some are large buildings with foreign government funding — while others are run by community and religious groups, and well-meaning individuals.

Etania, founded in 2009 by former school principal Kathryn Rivai from New Zealand, with support from Indonesian NGO Pro Visi Education, now operates 12 schools across the state.

These schools primarily serve the children of migrant workers, with fluctuating student numbers and irregular attendance, though Rivai estimates around 200 students per school.

Meanwhile, Humana Child Aid is the largest ALC network, running at least 130 centres for over 10,000 students, mainly children of Indonesian plantation workers, with significant foreign funding.

The Indonesian government has an agreement with Malaysia to provide education for migrant worker children, sending qualified teachers to ALCs in plantations.

The Philippines government also offers limited support, with a Unicef study between 2016 and 2017 identifying six ALCs in Sabah receiving resources from its embassy, though restricted in operations.

Community-run ALCs include Cahaya Society, which oversees five centres in Sandakan, and faith-based Madrasah Al Hikmah in Kampung Likas, which has up to 500 students.

Some ALCs operate in private homes, like one run by a 21-year-old housewife in Sandakan for 30 Bajau Laut children, with her father expanding their home to accommodate them.

Marilou Salgatar Chin and the teachers at Stairway to Hope provides education to mostly Filipino children in Sabah, with an emphasis on English. — Picture by Julia Chan

How is school in an ALC?

Most ALCs in Sabah operate independently without official recognition from the Ministry of Education, allowing them to set their own syllabus.

“The children off the street can come to us without any literacy skills, so we teach them to read, write, and do mathematics. That is the basics,” said Rivai.

“We can adapt the lessons to what we feel is more needed. So after the basic reading, writing, and maths, there is science, civic studies, geography, history, and music,” she added.

ALCs also emphasise practical skills that students can use without formal education or documentation, such as baking, sewing, farming, and, when resources allow, computer literacy.

“Computers are a big one, and we’re grateful for sponsored internet from Starlink and donated laptops and tablets from an NGO that also provides IT lessons,” said Rivai.

In plantations, ALCs often integrate farming into their syllabus while following the Indonesian school system to help students transition back home for further studies.

Instead of age-based classes, students are grouped by ability, meaning a 12-year-old could be at kindergarten level while a 16-year-old is still learning multiplication.

Extracurricular activities are similar to government schools, including sports tournaments, camping trips, factory visits, dental check-ups, and environmental awareness programmes.

Faith-based ALCs like Madrasah Al Hikmah prioritise Islamic studies, while centres like Stairway to Hope follows a Philippines-based syllabus with a strong emphasis on skills training.

“We are looking for a bookkeeping tutor, which we think will be valuable in the job market,” said the latter’s founder Marilou Salgatar Chin, whose English-proficient teachers prepare students for further studies in the Philippines.

Opened 12 years ago, Stairway to Heaven has graduated many children over the years. — Picture by Julia Chan

Fighting to stay in school

For students in ALCs, attending school is a privilege, not a chore, as they yearn to learn despite being born into circumstances where education is not a right.

While many parents support their children’s education, some prefer they start working as early as 12 years old to contribute financially.

“So our students have to fight to be here, with parents scraping together RM50 for school fees, arranging transport, and avoiding deportation,” said Rivai.

“But the children are so excited to be at school, not just to learn but to meet others like themselves and visit schools in other districts,” she added.

Many who tried public school dropped out due to struggling with the syllabus, financial strain, or being shunned by their peers.

“They definitely get bullied, and the easiest thing to do is just not go to school,” Rivai said.

Chin noted that drop-out rates at her ALC are high, as families struggle with the RM130 monthly fee, transport, or frequent relocations.

“Many won’t finish high school here, but that’s okay — we focus on giving them skills so they can earn a decent living with English and computer literacy,” she said.

For many, dreams of becoming doctors, engineers, or firefighters are out of reach due to their stateless status and lack of documents.

To Rivai, success means a student being able to earn a steady income, start a business, or even return to teach at an ALC.

A former Stairway to Hope student, 26-year-old Normawati Kasim, recently earned a nursing degree from Universidad de Zamboanga in the Philippines, after completing her studies at the centre.

“She is one of our success stories, and her younger sister, now at the school, hopes to follow in her footsteps,” said Chin.