By Fong Chan Onn
Since my days as the Deputy Education Minister in the 1990s, I have heard many debates on the vernacular schools; ranging from they being the source of racial disunity, for stifling creativity, for their inability to produce outstanding scholars, to even espousing communism. Let me try to debunk some of these arguments.
Preamble
In 1970, the Chinese primary student population numbered 439,681 in 1,346 Chinese primary schools (SJKCs). Today, the number of SJKC has fallen to 1,285 but they provide primary education in Mandarin to over 700,000 students with about 70,000 (10%) being non-Chinese.
In 1957, the number of teachers in the Chinese schools was 10,984 compared with 14,366 teachers in the national schools. Since then, the teacher population in the national schools has grown six times, whereas the teacher population in the Chinese schools has only increased two-fold despite the overwhelming demand for teaching resources.
Issues
One might ask what drives the present X-generation parents, who are middle class and are likely to be IT savvy, to send their children to an over-crowded and painfully competitive environment. Presently, over 90% of Malaysian Chinese send their children to SJKCs.Prior to Independence, the death knell had already been sounded for Chinese schools in Malaysia yet, they have risen and thrived even in the face of globalization.
Perhaps, we have been myopic about how Chinese schools are viewed.
Racial Disharmony
Some have said SJKCs do not give students the chance to interact with students of other races, and therefore induce some extent of racial disharmony.
The vernacular schooling system is not a source of racial disharmony. How can it be when they use the same curriculum and teaching methods as the national schools? Negara Ku is sang passionately, and the Rukun Negara emphasized at every assembly. Vernacular schools, of course, also emphasis strongly BM and English from Standard One. In fact, when we listen to them speaking in BM we can’t differentiate them from other students.
SJKC students also have many opportunities to mix around. Besides interacting with the non-Chinese students in their own schools, SJCKs are required to organize regular activities with the other stream schools (such as sports, and open days) by the Ministry of Education under its Program Integrasi, so students and parents can inter-mingle. Moreover, over 90% of SJKC students go to Government secondary schools where they then spend their most formative years (age 12 to 17 years).
Furthermore, our primary education system is a diverse system including national, national-type, religious, and private schools. Erasing the vernacular (ie national-type) schools does not automatically imply that all students will study then under the same roof at the primary level.
Creativity or Lack of it
Is the creativity in our young ones really stymied by the so-called rote learning or, by our stereotyped image of a disciplinary master with black-rimmed glasses, carrying a cane at SCKCs?
It must be pointed out that all SJKC teachers are the same products of the Teachers’ Colleges that any other school teacher-trainee is sent to. They are taught to use the same teaching methodologies, and of course the same contents.
If rote learning is a flaw, it is a flawed part of the Malaysian education system not limited to vernacular schools. To change this requires a transformation of the entire teaching regime and pedagogic approaches, and yes, definitely also in the SJKCs.
In fact, many SJKC school boards have realized this, and on their parts have assisted the formation of computer clubs. SJKCs such as Lai Ming in KL, Kwok Kwang in JB, and Machap Baru (in my constituency), and many others, are using computers to teach, and foster creativity, in the class-rooms. It is the overwhelming integration of computing teaching methods in the class-rooms that have enabled the SJKCs to excel in Science and Mathematics, and not rote-learning as expounded by my ex UM colleague Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim.
If it is the Chinese education that is to be baggaged with the past of being the language of the imperial courts and deemed irrelevant and non-creative in the modern world (as suggested by my good friend Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing), how is it that the Silicon Valley is filled with engineers and inventors of IC (Indian and Chinese) orgins? How is it that many of the new inventions associated with the IT world, such as the sound card (created by Sim Wong Hoo, a Nee Ann Polytechnic Graduate) and the pen-drive (created by our own Pua Khein Seng) have amongst their inventors engineers who were Chinese educated? And how is it that some of them have gone on to win Noble Prizes; including Lee Yuan Tseh in Chemistry (1986) and Charles Kao Kuen who just a month ago won the 2009 Noble Price for Physics for his pioneering work in fiber optics.
Surely we cannot ignore the fact that classical Chinese education has long changed from its emphasis on Confucian ethics to modern science and technology since the early 1900s.
And are the products of Malaysian Chinese schools as undistinguished as claimed by Khoo Kay Kim? Has he forgotten that his own esteemed UM colleagues such as Professor Tan Chong Tin (neurology), Professor Saw Aik (orthopedic) and Prof Cheong Soon Keng (hematology) were from Chinese schools, and are respected members of the Malaysian Medical Profession?
As a Council Member of TAR College I can testify that TAR College has, since 1960, groomed many Chinese school students into professional accountants, engineers, builders, IT personnel and managers so much sought after by the employers. In fact 70% of Malaysian professional accountants are TARC graduates; and they have contributed towards the profession into what it is today.
And has he also forgotten the entrepreneurial contributions of YTL, Genting and the KLK (Yeoh Tiong Lay, the late Lim Goh Tong and the late Lee Loy Seng)? Lest we forget, these founders were from humble backgrounds, but raised in a predominantly Chinese-educated environment. Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew (a product of Batu Pahat Chinese schools) has been praised for his success in winning the international bid for the London Millennium Dome and completing it inspite of the financial crises in 1999.
Over 80% of owners of Chinese-owned SMEs in Malaysia are from Chinese schools. Many of them have ventured far and wide around the globe (such as Green Packet, and Kurnia Asia).
I think we should not underrate these Chinese school products as being non-creative.
Attracting Non-Malay Students to National Schools
I agree that more parents should be encouraged to consider the national schools as their choice. To make the convergence happen, the pull factor must come from a choice made in the quality of education that the national schools provide, rather than compulsion.
Consider the case in the 1960s when over half of Chinese primary students attended missionary schools. This was not because the parents wanted them to study Christianity, but because these schools have dedicated teachers, and they provided the education (mostly in English) deemed important for subsequent employment. The Ministry of Education’s new approach of enhancing the image of national primary schools should be applauded. There is no shortage of parents (including non-Malays) who want to send their children to national schools such as the Bukit Damansara, or the Sri Petaling , or the PJ Convent Primary School.
At present Chinese (and some non-Chinese) parents prefer to send their children to SJKCs not just for the learning of Mandarin, but also because these schools have dedicated school boards where the parents are actively and purposefully involved in the running of the schools - such as fund raising, sports and speech day organization - and this greatly motivate the teachers to go the extra mile to look after their children better.
The variety of choices for primary education should be our strength instead of our weakness. The competition amongst the various school streams will only results in more commitment amongst the teachers to teach their students better and more effectively.
Impact of Vernacular Schools on Societal Development
The presence of vernacular schools, with the continued assistance of the government and the various communities, gives meaning and support to our motto Unity in Diversity. From independence, this has enabled Malaysia to evolve into a peaceful plural society, proving wrong the prediction of many international pessimists. This also demonstrates that a plural society can be developed through interaction and integration, as opposed to assimilation once strongly advocated by nations such as US and Australia.
SJCKs have also resulted in a substantial number of Malaysians (including non-Chinese) being fluent in three languages - BM, English and Mandarin - since the 1960s.
These trilingual Malaysians have contributed to enhancing Sino-Malay understanding. I can still remember the occasion when I applied for my first passport in December 1963 for overseas study. The officer (a Malay) asked me to write out my name in Chinese characters as well. I was amused; but he explained he was from a Chinese school and conversed with me in Mandarin. Imagine the assistance he would have given to (and the gratitude he would have derived from) many other applicants who could not converse in fluent BM or English then! Of course, now in government front-line offices non-Chinese officers conversing in Mandarin (or at least Penang Hokkien) with applicants is not uncommon.
These trilingual graduates have enhanced the competitiveness of our domestic environment. Many FDIs from Taiwan (such as Acer), Singapore (like Creative Technology etc), Hong Kong, China and even Japan were attracted to Malaysia because of their flexibility and employability.
These Malaysians have also enabled many Malaysian enterprises to successfully venture into the China and East Asia markets. The success of enterprises such as Hai-o, LBS, and Parkson speaks volumes of their contribution in expanding our export base.
Many Multinational Corporations such as Intel, Motorola, and Dell have actively sought out these trilingual graduates and placed them to be in charge of their subsidiary offices or plants in China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and even in London or US because of their ability to work in a multi-cultural environment. Singapore and Hong Kong companies are especially keen to recruit our trilingual graduates to help them to entrench themselves as front-liners to the China market.
Certainly, Malaysia benefits from their international presence as it demonstrates globally the quality of our workforce. Ultimately many of them can be attracted to return, and with their experience help to propel our country out of our current middle-income trap.
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Dr Fong Chan Onn was Professor of Applied Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, in the 1980s. He served in the Government as Deputy Minister of Education (1990-1999) and Minister of Human Resources (1999-2008). He is currently the MP for Alor Gajah.
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