POLITICIANS and academics against vernacular schools are struggling to accept that Chinese primary schools have become more multiracial than some national schools.
They only need to see the process for themselves and talk to the parents, especially the non-Chinese, to find out why they’re sending their children to Chinese schools particularly.
This decision wouldn’t have been easy for these parents. For starters, they won’t be able to help their kids in their schoolwork if they can’t read or write Chinese.
Teachers in these schools are demanding and results oriented. It’s common for parents to be summoned if their children perform poorly in exams.
The benefit though, is parents are assured that their children will get a strong grounding in mathematics and science.
There’s another crucial reason why Chinese schools are popular – parents understand they need to invest in their kids to be sure they’re fluent in Mandarin since it’s an asset.
It’s not just Malay and Indian parents who understand this, but also Chinese parents who never went to Chinese schools and now realise their disadvantage when they need to deal with mainland Chinese.
I can name Umno politicians, Malay celebrities and government officials who have enrolled their children in Chinese schools.
They surely don’t expect these schools to be breeding grounds for racial extremism, as some ignorant and over-imaginative politicians like to assume.
The syllabus is, after all, approved by the Education Ministry, and the teachers are of various races. Also, Bahasa Malaysia and English are compulsory subjects.
After the six years of primary education, these students move on to national schools.
Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Teo Kok Seong, who has landed in hot water, probably assumed that Chinese and Tamil schools are mono-ethnic, like they used to be during his time. On the contrary, it’s national schools which are now more mono-ethnic. Yes, the truth can be stranger than fiction.
Even in 2020, according to statistics from Chinese education groups, non-Chinese pupils made up 19.87 % of the student population, an increase from 11.84% in 2010.
Then Education Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin had said Malays comprised 15.33% of the total student population in Chinese schools, compared to 9.5% in 2010. Meanwhile, Indian student enrolment rose to 2.75% of the total student population in 2020 versus 1.67% a decade ago. These figures are based on 1,200 Chinese primary schools and 523 Tamil primary schools.
“Due to the rising number of non-Chinese in these schools, the total number of ethnic Chinese has dropped to 80.25% this year (2020) from 88.16% in 2010,” said Putrajaya MP, Radin, of Bersatu.
Valuable asset: One of the reasons why Chinese schools are popular with parents of all races is that many want their children to be fluent in Mandarin. — Sin Chew Daily/ANN
The decline is also due to the shrinking Chinese population, with parents preferring to have only one or two kids.
These Chinese primary schools may one day see Malays and Indians dominating the enrolment!
I’m sure Prof Teo means well since he wants our schools to be filled with children of all races and religions. He has said that ethnic relations in Malaysia have remained poor because of multi-stream schools.
But if some quarters need to take the rap for poor race relations, then pin it on the politicians who continue to turn it into a twisted narrative. Prof Teo should call out these recalcitrant lawmakers instead.
Well, there used to be English-medium schools in Malaysia, which were viewed as the neutral ground for everyone.
Now, they exist in private and international schools where only more affluent families can afford to send their children to. They include many Malay political elites, of course.
Those who’ve opted for this expect their children to acquire a globally recognised education, and they believe an English-medium education will provide them a more liberal, open view of the world. Add to that the stronger chance of pursuing tertiary education in the United States or Britain.
It’s open to debate but Chinese schools are perceived as dogmatic and stringent, so some parents don’t want their kids’ world view to revolve around only China and Taiwan.
Prof Teo, currently under police investigation, is entitled to his views and actions of lodging police reports, but we don’t subscribe to his undemocratic idea.
There was nothing seditious in what he said compared to the shenanigans of other rabble rouser politicians.
Like Prof Teo, I’m what the Chinese-educated call a banana – one who is yellow on the outside, being Chinese, and white inside, denoting someone who subscribes to Western views.
I studied in a Catholic school for my primary and secondary education, so I never grasped reading Chinese or speaking Mandarin.
I studied Malay literature and Islamic history for my Sixth Form examinations, and at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, I enrolled in the Malay Letters Department during my first year.
My father comes from a Peranakan family, and likewise my grandparents and mother, who wears the sarong to this day.
Prof Teo and I have similar backgrounds, as he also taught in UKM, where, as a Kelantanese, he displayed a profound love for the Malay language.
But growing up in a thriving port like Penang, which provided greater exposure to diverse cultures, presumably made us different.
Much has changed in Malaysia, like the world itself. England is no longer an economic powerhouse. The power has shifted to China. Our young Malaysians, regardless of their race, must be able to speak in Mandarin if they want to remain competitive.
Senior citizens like Prof Yeo and myself surely must have wished that we, too, could speak the language fluently.
Likewise, our kids should be able to speak Bahasa Indonesia, Arabic and better still, Tamil and Hindi. A strong command of English remains imperative because it’s still an international language.
Hopefully, educationists can invite Prof Teo to their schools and let him be updated by the students and parents.
Chinese schools take education seriously and many parents like it because the teachers are focused and committed.
The Federal Court has already declared vernacular schools to be constitutional, and everyone should respect that decision and move on. Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek has also assured Malaysians that the government remains committed to vernacular schools.
Why not make Chinese a compulsory third language in our national schools, since our school education system should evolve to be better?
Truth be told, it’ll never work if it’s merely an optional subject with no requirement to pass.
Enough has been said. There are bigger fish to fry, yet unfortunately, Malaysia continues to be weighed down by inconsequential debates on issues reeking of race and religion, with us only being seen by the world as shooting ourselves in the foot.
