There is a dire need to overhaul the education system in the country, including disbanding the present primary school structure to ensure racial segregation among Malaysians does not begin at an early age.
National Professors Council fellow, Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Teo Kok Seong said national unity can be achieved by abolishing national, vernacular, and religious schools, and by replacing them with a combined school system that incorporates ‘the best practices’ of the existing models.
“We have reached a point where national schools comprise only Malay students, while Chinese and Indian students are opting to either go to vernacular or international schools. The current system is segregating our citizens from a young age. This is the reality,” said Teo.
“We need to restructure this practice. It can be done by disbanding the present structure of schools at the primary level, be it national, vernacular, or religious schools.”
Teo, who was among those who drafted the National Education Blueprint 2013-2025, said the government had; as far as 2013, acknowledged that non-Malays were opting out from national schools.
“The blueprint stated that national schools would become the school of choice by 2025,” said Teo.
“However, we are going into 2023. Look around us … we are way off target.”
The National Education Blueprint 2013-2025 also stated that ethnic stratification in schools had increased in recent years.
The number of Chinese students enrolled in Chinese medium schools had increased from 92 per cent in 2000, to 96 per cent in 2011. The number of Indian students enrolled in Tamil medium schools had also increased from 47 per cent, to 56 per cent during the same period.
In national schools, 97 per cent of students are ethnically Bumiputera.
The blueprint noted that as student environments become more homogenous, there is a growing need for the ministry to create avenues for students from different school types to interact.
To foster unity, it is important for students to interact and learn with peers and teachers from various ethnic, religious, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds.
It further stated that there were specific schooling options that had more ethnic homogenous environments. This was the result of the Education Ministry providing parents with options, namely the option for students to be taught in their mother tongue, the option for a curriculum with a larger emphasis on religious education, as well as the mainstream option of instruction in the national language.
The National Education Blueprint also noted that homogeneity and unity are not necessarily related. However, it added that homogenous environments made it more challenging for students to be exposed to the different cultures and ethnic groups, and to develop an appreciation for diversity, which is critical for unity.
Incorporate best practices of existing streams
Teo said restructuring the existing primary school system can be achieved by adopting the best academic, ethnic, and religious practices from the existing school streams.
“The biggest consideration should be given to the best academic component from national and vernacular schools. This includes public speaking, which is taught in religious schools,” he said.
“As for the ethnic component, languages like Mandarin, Tamil, Punjabi, Siamese, and the indigenous languages of Sabah and Sarawak should be included in the system.”
Teo, who is also principal research fellow at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Institute of Ethnic Studies, said religious studies in schools under the proposed new model, if taught, should go beyond Islam.
“We should also introduce Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism in schools for those who profess these faiths, if we are brave enough.”
He noted that children as young as four were also being segregated in kindergarten.
“Children are not assimilating with each other. You cannot expect them to start accepting one another in secondary school when they had been segregated six to nine years earlier,” he said.
Teo added that what he is mooting is similar to the Singaporean education system, in which an English-based bilingual education system is adopted.
English is the medium of instruction for subject-matter curriculum, while the official mother tongue of each student – Mandarin for Chinese, Malay for Malays, and Tamil for Indians – is taught as a second language.
‘Defenders of vernacular schools must learn to see bigger picture’
The Federal Constitution guarantees that the Chinese and Indians in Peninsular Malaysia, and the indigenous people of Sabah and Sarawak, can enjoy the right to education in their respective languages.
However, Teo said steps must be taken to ensure that there is a re-evaluation of the education policy to ensure that young Malaysians are able to appreciate diversity in years to come.
Talks of closing down vernacular schools have been going on for years, but have been met with strong opposition.
“For years, those from the Chinese education groups for example, have demonstrated an unwillingness to have a single-stream school system. They are not looking at the bigger picture.
“They will fight all the way to defend Chinese education, as they belong to the ethno-linguistic group. In their culture, the Chinese language is number one.”
The Malays, Teo said, were not ethno-linguistic. They do not protect their language. Instead, many Malays in Malaysia belong to the ethno-religious group, where they will go all out to defend Islam, he added.
Teo said polarisation is increasing in the country and decision-makers, especially the new government, must show it is committed in addressing the matter.
“Since those days, you would see English-speaking Chinese and the Chinese who only spoke in their mother tongues. Those who graduated from vernacular schools don’t really care about assimilation. They are not that open-minded.
“But if we don’t address it now, the nation will go down the drain in the next five to 10 years. We must have heart-to-heart talks and serious conversations on these issues, for the sake of the nation. This could very well be our last chance to get it right,” he added.
Not just an issue of race, but quality of education
Teo acknowledged that many parents, including Malays and Indians, are now opting to send their children to Chinese-medium schools. They claim that the quality of education was “better”.
“Teachers there (in Chinese medium schools) are very hard-working. There is no room for not attending classes or being pre-occupied with other businesses, including direct selling.
“This is the reason why people have no faith in national schools. The quality of education is poor. It has also become too religious. Teachers who are qualified are not promoted as head of subjects, and this too, causes the system to deteriorate.”
He said there was also a need to ensure that more non-Malays take up teaching positions in schools to ensure there is diversity from the teaching and administration levels.
“The entire system needs a revamp. It must be addressed and not swept under the carpet as there is already so much rubbish there,” he added.
