Vernacular school groups sceptical despite ministry’s assurance

Groups championing vernacular education are not buying the education ministry's assurance that Chinese and Tamil schools will continue to exist and be protected.

The United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) and Tamil Foundation Malaysia remain fearful of the blueprint and its policies, which they say threaten vernacular school education.

"My biggest worry is that the policies are based on Education Act 1996, which in effect pushes for the implementation of single-stream schools.

"We are not against the teaching of the national language, but single-stream schools sideline mother tongue education, and this threatens vernacular education," said Dong Zong vice-president Chow Siew Hon.

Vice-president of Tamil Foundation Malaysia Raghavan Annamalai said they are on the same boat as Dong Zong on this issue and are unhappy that the blueprint wasn't reviewed before the launch.

"As part of Gabungan Bertindak Malaysia, a coalition of 25 NGOs, which has conducted detailed studies and reviews of the Ministry of Education's initiative, we are disappointed that our suggestions were not taken into consideration by the government," said Raghavan.

He said that although it wasn't mentioned explicitly in the blueprint that vernacular schools will be removed, he is concerned that the identity of Chinese and Tamil schools will die a slow death, just like what happened to English medium schools.

He fears that teaching time for non-Malay languages will be reduced to accommodate longer hours for the teaching of the national language.

Chow said that Dong Zong will continue to oppose the blueprint with its petition movement and roadshows that started in July as a move to educate the community about the threats posed to vernacular education by the blueprint.

A resolution was passed during a Dong Zong organised assembly at SJK (C) Chung Kwo in July, which was attended by 2,000 representatives from 1,100 associations.

The roadshow, which targets communities nationwide, will be held in West and East Malaysia.

They also resolve to pressure the government by submitting complaints to the United Nation Human Rights Council and The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation as the last mode of action. - September 6, 2013.