Bring back English schools
It is unhealthy for race relations when the student population in
Chinese schools is 99.9% Chinese, Tamil schools is 100% Indian and
national schools, dubbed Malay schools, is 80% to 90% Malay.
SERIOUSLY, the government should allow the use of English as a medium
of instruction in schools again. If there are Chinese and Tamil primary
schools alongside national schools, there is no reason for Malaysians
not to have other options.
At present, the other option for
better English proficiency is in private schools, which allocate more
time for the teaching of English despite following the national school
syllabus. However, it is an expensive option that only a few can afford.
Why
should the right of Malaysians to study in English-medium schools be
enjoyed only by those who can afford to study at international schools?
There
are many good reasons for English-medium schools to be reintroduced,
chief of which must surely be the language's neutral status whereby no
one can claim ownership to it.
Older Malaysians who went to
English-medium schools can testify that it was in such an environment
that they made many friends of all ethnic backgrounds.
The English schools, as they were popularly referred to, were neutral grounds and were real cultural melting pots.
Friendship
cultivated at primary school level among Malaysians of different races
and religions would always be strong and deep. Our current primary
school system basically does not provide such opportunities for our
young ones to mix.
We do get to mix with one another later on in
life, but working relationships that are untested or superficial are not
true friendships.
Older Malaysians can narrate long stories of
how they used to sleep over at their friends' homes, eating with their
friends' families and parents of their friends treating them like their
own children. These friendships continued even after they went to
university, entered working life, and got married.
These are the kinds of friends who would be part of the wedding entourage, either on the side of the bride or bridegroom.
I am now 52 years old. I believe I was among the last batch of Malaysians who had the privilege of being taught in English.
While
some may dismiss what I have said as elitist or an attempt to glorify
English at the expense of the national language, let me set the record
straight. In Form 6, I opted to study Malay Literature and sat for the
exam in Upper Six, which was then called Higher School Certificate and
is the equivalent of the STPM today. It was also the entrance exam into
local universities. I also studied Islamic History.
During my
first year at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, I also chose Malay Letters
as one of my three majors. At UKM, it is also compulsory to pass the
Islamic Civilisation course, which was a basic course on Islam. I have
also amassed a huge collection of books on Islam in my private library,
and the works of Malay artists like Yusuf Ghani and Ismail Latiff
continue to inspire me.
I dare say many of our politicians and
leaders of so-called non-governmental organisations, who loudly make
statements with racial overtones, do not even have such credentials.
But
the point I am making is that more and more Chinese parents are sending
their children to Chinese primary schools because they believe the
standard of teaching and discipline in these schools is better. For the
same reason, the number of Malay students at such schools has also
increased.
But most Malay parents send their children to national
schools where they form the bulk of the student population. Over the
years, the national schools have been seen by many Chinese as becoming
more religious in nature.
It's a Catch 22 situation. If the
Chinese are shunning national schools, then the students in these
schools would be predominantly Malay.
The Federal Constitution
guarantees the position of Chinese and Tamil schools. No politician,
whether in Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat, would dare to make any
statement against these vernacular schools.
But the reality is
that it is unhealthy when the student population in Chinese schools is
99.9% Chinese, Tamil schools is 100% Indian and national schools, dubbed
Malay schools, is 80% to 90% Malay!
It is meaningless to talk
about 1Malaysia when our children have no friends of other races in
their formative years! Many Malaysians in their 30s and 40s now are
already in this situation.
Just ask Malaysians at random how many real friends of other races, not colleagues, customers or bosses, they have. Be honest.
Is
it any wonder then that the Malays are incredulous when they see
Chinese Malaysians who can't speak Bahasa Malaysia well or even refuse
to speak Bahasa among themselves?
The Chinese, on the other hand,
still wonder why some Malay quarters continue to ask what else the
Chinese want when they find that some policies are working against them
and make them feel discriminated.
This is happening because race
relations have taken a beating. The various races are not talking or
trying to understand one another. Each side only sees its own viewpoint
without appreciating that in a complex and plural society like ours, no
one group can have its way completely.
We have churned out bigots
in our schools. It also doesn't help that the various races are only
watching channels in their own languages on
Astro. The only time they probably watch the same channel is when an English Premier League football match is on.
If
we are serious about restoring the standard of English in schools and
improving race relations in this country, bring back the English-medium
schools. Let Malaysians choose.
On the Beat by WONG CHUN WAI
Yes, bring back English schools
I AGREE with Wong Chun Wai’s views as expressed in his On The Beat column to “Bring back English schools”.
It
is timely for our Prime Minister and his new Cabinet to seriously
consider bringing back English-medium schools to help foster racial
unity among Malaysians.
Racial unity begins in the most formative
years of our children, which is the time when they are in primary and
secondary schools.
This is the time when they can easily relate
to one another as true friends without even thinking of race, religion
or social background.
I am 51 years old and a practising
Buddhist. I was educated in a mission school, the St Xavier’s
Institution in Penang, of which I am very proud of until today.
During
our formative years, we had many close friends of all races. We played
games together with the Malays and Indians after school, and usually
ended up enjoying their families’ home-cooked food and hospitality.
It was during such moments that we not only appreciated the spicy curry dishes, but we also learned about their cultures.
These
fond memories and happy moments with classmates like Mohd Farid, Mohd
Salmi, Razak, Ismail Manaf, Chandran, Ravi, Richard Clarence and many
others are still vivid in my mind.
But my own children, who are now in their teens, are not able to share similar moments.
Another
good reason to bring back English-medium schools must surely be to
improve our command of the language, both written and oral.
Many of our local university graduates have a very poor command of the language.
As
a human resource practitioner for more than 15 years, I have met many
of these fresh graduates who cannot speak properly, or even complete a
conversation in English during interviews.
They prefer to speak
either in Bahasa Malaysia or Mandarin because they did not grow up in an
environment where they could use English more frequently.
It
appears to me that those who go to government schools are greatly
disadvantaged in this respect when compared to their peers who go to
private or international schools.
In my time, we have no choice but to speak in English, as that was our common language in school.
Bringing
these schools back will also give us a global competitive edge and help
the nation in its economic transformation programme.
By MICHAEL HEAH Penang
English-medium schools seen as right move
The Penang Free School is the first English School in Malaysia that was started in 1816 (It's still
around!). As the population grows, more schools were built ranging from the Straits Settlement of Penang, Perak, Selangor, Malacca and Singapore. This has benefitted the urban people as they received
education from these English schools.
PETALING JAYA: Bringing back English-medium schools as an option would be a smart move, say many groups.
Sarawak Teachers Union
president William Ghani Bina said English is a global language.
“If we want our children to be global citizens, there are no two ways about it,” said Bina when commenting on
The Star executive director and group chief editor
Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai's
On the Beat column on bringing back English-medium schools.
In
his column yesterday, Wong said that the Government should allow the
use of English as a medium of instruction in schools again.
Wong
added that if there are Chinese and Tamil primary schools alongside
national schools, there is no reason for Malaysians not to have other
options.
At present, he said the other option for better English
proficiency is in private schools, which allocate more time for the
teaching of English despite following the national school syllabus.
Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) Malaysia
chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim said English is the language of knowledge.
“As our students are not being taught in English, what we see is a loss of opportunity to acquire knowledge,” she said.
Microsoft Malaysia Legal and Corporate Affairs
director Jasmine Belum said English is the language of business and technology.
“We want to make sure that Malaysians are proficient so that they are not at a competitive disadvantage,” she added.
Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (Melta)
president Dr Ganakumaran Subramaniam agreed, saying that English-medium schools does not mean converting to a non-Malaysian curriculum.
“We
also need to remember that if English is the medium only at
international schools, then we are polarising our students further.
“There needs to be equal opportunity,” he added.
StarEducate columnist Mallika Vasugi said the neutrality of the English language also acts as a binding agent.
“What we see now in secondary schools is that different races tend to remain separate, based on their language.
“But
what we also see is that those who mix around the most are the ones who
speak English,” said Mallika who is also an English language teacher.
By LUWITA HANA RANDHAWA educate@thestar.com.my
