“We spend 20% of the GDP per capita on education whereas in Singapore they spend only 11% and Japan about 7%.

“This means our allocation is three times that in Japan and double that in Singapore.

“However, why is our education system sliding backwards?” he asked while debating the King’s address in the Dewan Rakyat.

Syed Saddiq said Malaysia’s education system has reached a critical state and it needs attention from all parties, not just the government, but also the opposition.

Among the issues that needed addressing were the workload of teachers, length of time to complete tertiary education, upgrading of poor schools, infrastructure problems in the interior and parents’ lack of confidence in national schools.

“I don’t want this system to become the ‘new normal’, where only when something becomes viral do they take action to improve poor schools.”

He urged for policy changes to be made, starting with improving the existing syllabus, settling infrastructural problems and easing the workload of teachers.