KUALA LUMPUR: With the number of non-Chinese students enrolling in Chinese primary schools continue to grow in the last 10 years, it is only appropriate that the government pay greater attention to the development of Chinese education in the country, said Tan Sri T.C Goh, President of The Federation of Chinese Associations Malaysia (Huazong).
This includes, to facilitate construction of more Chinese primary schools, to enhance teachers training programs for Chinese primary schools, to provide sufficient teachers to teach Chinese language in national-type secondary schools, and to provide sufficient grants towards promoting the learning of Chinese language among Malaysians.
He opined that the Ministry of Education strives to ensure sufficient opportunities for the non-Chinese/Bumiputera students to continue to pursue their secondary Chinese education, after completing their primary education in Chinese primary schools. This was in view of the growing trend of more non-Chinese students enrolling in independent Chinese secondary schools in recent years, after completing their primary education in Chinese primary schools.
While he was convinced that the position of Malay language as national language would remain unchanged, he opined that the government should also take cognizance of the growing world trend of inclining towards a more diverse multicultural education.
“The growth in the number of non-Chinese students in Chinese primary schools, in the last 10 years, is an undeniable fact either based on official figures or statistics of various Chinese primary schools. The government and Chinese community should therefore view this matter positively, with the condition that the unique features of Chinese schools, such as the use of Chinese language as the key medium for teaching, and the authority of the School board must remain unchanged,” he said in a statement issued today.
Goh who is also the President of Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) was commenting on the Education Minister Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin’s recent revelation that there are more non-Chinese students enrolled in Chinese vernacular schools this year compared to a decade ago.
Mohd Radzi noted that Malay students comprised 15.33 per cent of the total student population in Chinese primary schools in 2020, compared to 9.15 per cent in 2010.
Ethnic Indians in these Chinese-language schools rose to 2.75 per cent of the total student population this year, versus 1.67 per cent a decade ago. However, the percentage of enrolment of Chinese students in Chinese vernacular schools showed a decrease of 7.91% from 88.16% in 2010 to 80.25% in 2020. He told Parliament in a written reply, on Wednesday.
Goh pointed out that the increase in non-Chinese students in the past mainly existed in rural areas, especially in east Malaysia. But, such a trend has become common in urban areas, including Kuala Lumpur, in recent years. This was chiefly due to non-Chinese parents having more confidence with the quality and standard of teaching in Chinese primary schools, while Chinese parents have the tendency of enrolling their children in international or private schools.
He thus opined that, the government should come out with necessary policies, such as to allocate more funds in Budget 2021 to better support Chinese education in the country; besides constructing more Chinese primary schools, the government should also ramp up training programs for Chinese school teachers, and if necessary, to expand teachers training programs in teachers training colleges.
“Government should also pay due attention to such a unique trend in the country, especially in east Malaysia where there is a significant number of non-Chinese students enrolled in Chinese independent secondary schools. Hence, it would be great if the Federal government could give more recognition to Chinese independent secondary schools, such as to institutionalize allocation of annual grants or to allocate state land to these schools, for development purposes, to generate incomes, like what has been done in some states.
“Of course, it would be even better if the government could eventually recognize the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC),” he concluded.-pr/BNN
