The impact of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025: Preliminary Report on Chinese education

1. The impact of the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025: Preliminary Report on Chinese education Dr Loh Yoong Keong New Era College Head, Centre of Law and Society July 28, 2013 1

2. This presentation will • Focus on the discussion of the impact of the Education Blueprint on Chinese education • Not involve any political pledges not stipulated in the Education Blueprint. 2 2

3. Launched by the Prime Minister on September 11, 2012. • The Education Blueprint is one that attempts to fundamentally transform the country's education system over 13 years from 2013 to 2025.

4. "Education system" includes: curriculum, teacher training, school administration and management, education system structure etc. • Education system structure = one that is made up of Chinese primary schools, Tamil primary schools, national primary schools, national secondary schools, Chinese independent High schools and other educational institutions. • While we must be concerned about the teaching curriculum, training of teachers, school administration and management, what deserves more attention is the structure of our education system.

5. This is because the reform of the education system structure may affect the nature and status of Chinese primary schools, Tamil primary schools and Chinese independent High schools, etc. Nothing comes more important than losing the natureandstatusof Chinese primary schools. 5

6. Q: Will the Education Blueprint alter the nature and status of Chinese primary schools? Will it affect the survival and development of Chinese primary schools? A1: In Chapter 1 of the Education Blueprint, it has stated very clearly that the country has inherited a fragmented education in 1957. It was the Razak Report 1956 and the Rahman Talib Report 1960 that established an ambitious vision for what the new nation's education system would look like (Page 1-2). 6

7. "Fragmented education system" = A diverse education system based upon communal needs. "New national education system" = With BM as the main medium of instruction, emphasizing national unity and a common national education system (Appendix 1, Page A-1).(monolingual) The Education Blueprint has repeatedly expressed the government's ultimate objective in building a common (monolingual) national education system to replace the colonial fragmented (diverse) education system. 7

8. UPM: The effectiveness of management and administration from education ministry down to schools. UKM: Whether the curriculum meet the intent of the National Education Philosophy. UM: Impact of 7 major education policies and 72 sub-policies implemented by the government from 1957 to 2011. A2: While drafting the Education Blueprint, the education ministry has commissioned 6 public local universities to conduct studies and submit reports on 8 key areas. 8

9. UPSI: The extent to which the infrastructure provided by the education ministry meets the needs of students and teachers. ii. The overall quality of human resources. UM and UPSI: The quality of teaching and learning processes. Higher Education Leadership Academy under the Ministry of Higher Education: The quality of teachers and school leaders. 9

10. USM: The structure and school types in the Malaysian education system since independence and their relevance today. USM conducted a broad literature review and supplemented by interviews with education experts, Ministry of Education officers, school leaders and other education groups and organisations. However, they failed to interview Dong Zong, an organisation struggling for the status of Chinese education all these years. 10

11. The 233 pages USM report compiled by an eight-member team is certainly closely associated with the status of Chinese primary schools in the country. It is believed that part of the content of the report has been included in the Education Blueprint. However, this report has not been published by the Education Ministry. 11

12. Some people have cited a section from pages 7-16 to justify their claim that the status of Chinese primary schools is being protected by the government. "The current structure of the Malaysian education system will remain. In particular, National-type primary schools where the medium of instruction is in Chinese language and Tamil will be maintained. Parents will have the option to decide whether to send their children to either National or National-type primary schools. After primary schools, all students from different public school types will converge and enter National secondary schools." 12

13. Whether the status of Chinese primary schools is being protected cannot be deduced merely from this paragraph. Instead, a thorough examination and analysis of the Education Blueprint must be conducted in order not to misinterpret. Nowhere in the Education Blueprint has mentioned about the development of Chinese education nor promote the teaching and learning of mother tongue of various communities. 13

14. While drafting the Education Blueprint, the committee visited a number of types of schools, including: （1）National primary schools （2）National secondary schools （3）Fully residential schools （4）Vocational schools （5）Private schools including Independent Chinese Schools and private religious schools(E-13: “RIMUP”） （6）Indigenous schools (for Orang Asli) in Selangor （7） Sekolah pondok in Kedah, and （8）Ethnic minority schools in Sabah 14

15. No mention whatsoever of visiting any Chinese primary schools. The objective of school visit is to seek student's perspectives on what makes their schools and teachers exemplary in a bid to improve the country's education system. Does the failure to visit Chinese primary schools imply that the Education Ministry has no intentionto improve and develop Chinese primary schools? 15

16. The context only states that the education system will remain, but short of assuring that the "nature" of Chinese primary schools will not be altered. "Structure" refers to constituent parts. To maintain the "structure" does not necessarily imply that the "nature" is also preserved. (eg. the experience of National-Type Secondary Schools). 16

17. Conclusion we can deduce 1. The structure of Chinese primary schools will be maintained from 2013 to 2020. 2. Beginning from 2013, the "nature" of Chinese primary schools may be affected. 3. After 2021, there is possibility that the legal status of Chinese primary schools may be lost. 17

18. How does the Education Blueprint affect the "nature" of Chinese primary schools? How will the Education Blueprint obliterate the legal status of Chinese primary schools from 2021? 18

19. Five major objectives • Improving access to education (access) • Raising standards (quality) • Closing achievement gaps (equity) • Promote unity amongst students (unity) • Maximising system efficiency (efficient)

20. Improving access to education (access) Raising standards of education(quality) 1.Beginning from preschools Changing the main medium of instruction To increase enrolment and to ensure private preschools meet national standards, the government has set up an Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) in December 2010, and "strongly encouraged" all private preschools to register with the council. 20

21. The ECCE will sets guidelines for pre- and in-service training programmes for teachers. All preschools are required to adhere to the National Preschool Curriculum. ECCE will conduct preschool inspection. 2013-2025: 100% of government preschools and 50% of private npreschools will be inspected. 2016-2020: Completed inspection of all preschools in the country. 21

22. "Strongly encourage" or "mandatory"? • How will the education ministry ensure the quality and monitor the students admission of private preschools if registration is not mandatory? • On page 7-5: "Allschools are required to adhere to the National Preschool Curriculum." and not "All registered schools are required to adhere to the National Preschool Curriculum" • This would mean that registration of preschools is mandatory. 22

23. Registration = supervision = incorporating preschools into the national education system. Article 17 Clause (1) of Education Act 1996: " The national language shall be the main medium of instruction in all educational institutions in the National Education System except a national-type school established under section 28 or any other educational institution exempted by the Minister from this subsection". 23

24. Will Chinese children completing the two-year national preschool education curriculum find it difficult to adapt themselves to the Chinese primary school curriculum where Mandarin is the main medium odf instruction? Will this result in drastic decline in the number of students in Chinese primary schools culminating in the eventual closure of these schools? (Insistence on Chinese as the teaching medium - mayn lead to closure of school) 24

25. Will Chinese primary schools for purposes of ensuring sufficient student enrolment OR for purposes of better equip students for Standard 4 OR to ensure their school leader emerge as High-Performing School Leader, ultimately 'self denaturisation" of Chinese primary schools? (Giving up Chinese teaching = denaturisation) 25

26. Raising Standard of Education (quality) 2. Chinese primary schools Enhancing BM curriculum will weaken the learning of mother language On pages 4-8 to 4-9, the Education Blueprint states that to achieve at least 90% of students score at least credit in BM in SPM, starting from 2014, all national-type primary schools for Year 4 will have to switch to the same BM language curriculum as National Schools. The achievement in 2010 was 75%. 26

27. Proposal for Standard 4 students in national type primary schools to awitch to the same BM Language curriculum as National Schools is only the initial move. The ultimate goal of the government is for all primary schools in the country to adopt a common BM curriculum and assessment standards. On Chapter 4 pages 4-7: "The Ministry will aim to develop students who are operationally proficient in BM and the English Language. Measures taken include: using one Bahasa Malaysia curriculum and assessment standard across all schools" Consequently, not only in Standard 4 but in every level. 27

28. The proposal to improve the BM standard of Chinese primary schools: baseless. 1. Why put it at 90%? 2. No evidence shows that the standard of UPSR BM in Chinese primary schools is poor. 3. The Education Blueprint only provides data for students scoring at least a credit for BM in SPM for 2010: Malays (84%), Chinese (63%) and Indians (57%). 4. Currently the evaluation standards of BM in national primary schools are only "slightly higher" than those in Chinese primary schools (pages 7-17). 5. The overall performance of Chinese primary schools for UPSR from 2005 to 2011 has been generally better than that of national primary schools (pages 3-19). 28

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30. The proposal is self-contradictory and has the tendency to alter the nature of Chinese primary schools. The curriculum and assessment of BM were set slightly lower than those of national primary schools because of the consideration that students in Chinese primary schools have to learn 3 different languages and are therefore unable to have equal number of hours for learning BM. Standardising the BM curriculum of Chinese primary schools and national primary school implies that the number of hours for learning of BM will have to be increased. 30

31. The number of hours for the learning of English cannot be reduced given the fact that the Education Blueprint continues to emphasise the policy of Memartabatkan Bahasa Malaysia dan Memperkukuhkan Bahasa Inggeris (MBMMBI) as well as to increase students' English exposure time. As a result, the number of hours for the learning of Chinese language will have to be slashed! While some of the subjects may still be taught in Chinese, but given the amount of English and BM lessons, it will be a mounting task for the students to learn these subjects in Chinese. 31

32. The unique characteristics and nature of Chinese primary schools are poised to be affected. One of the five objectives of the Education Blueprint is to ensure equity in education. However, by standardising the number of hours for the learning of BM in all schools without taking into consideration Chinese primary school students have to learn an additional language, would it not tantamount to creating another inequality in the national education system? 32

33. Ensuring equity in education(equity) 3. Ignoring Starting Equality and Process Equality. One of the five objectives: to ensure equity in education Namely closing achievementn gaps. 33

34. Between schools from different state • Between schools within the same state • Between rural and urban schools. • Between national-type schools and national schools • Between male and female students • Between students of different socio- economic status • Between students of private and public schools The Education Blueprint has identified several areas where there are significant variations in the students' learning outcome: 34

35. Performance variations between students of national schools and national-type schools Chapter 3 (page 3-19) cites a survey conducted between 2005 and 2011 which shows that the UPSR scores of students between SK and SJK(C) is negligible(0.3%). Only SJK(T)s still lag behind both SJK(C)s and SKs by approximately 4%. 35

36. Performance variations between students of private schools which using the national curriculum and public schools Without quoting any statistics, the Education Blueprint states that the private schools using the national curriculum score about 6% higher than public schools in SPM (page 3-21). 36

37. Two problems 1.The performance of Chinese primary schools has always been the best among different types of schools. Moreover, private schools using the national curriculum always outperform government schools. Since this is the case, why not go on with the stronger and improve on the poorer? Shouldn't the Education Blueprint fully support the development of Chinese primary schools and private schools while encouraging national schools to emulate Chinese primary schools and private schools? 37

38. As a matter of fact, equity in education comprises: 1. Starting Equality; 2. Process Equality; 3. Result Equality. Although the Education Blueprint stressed on access to education, it only limited to improve the opportunity of receiving education, not the opportunity of receiving mother tongue education. 2. The Education Blueprint emphasises equity in education, but this equity is only limited to students academic performance (result equality). 38

39. In a multiracial country, Starting Equality means that all citizens, irrespective of race and religion, have the equal opportunity to receive mother language education for their intrinsic needs. Moreover, the Education Blueprint has also overlooked Process Equality, i.e. inequality in the allocation of funds, teacher availability, classroom equipment and training software etc. While Result Equality is important, the Starting Equality and Process Equality are critical as well. Without equality in these areas, the pursuit of Result Equality will be rendered meaningless. 39

40. Promote Unity Amongst Student (unity) 4. Chinese primary schools made the scapegoat for disunity Chapter 3 of the Education Blueprint points out that primary school students in the country are in a highly homogeneous environment, making it less likely for students to receive exposure to students of different cultures and ethnic groups, thus less likely to develop the respect for diversity critical for unity. 40

41. It is baseless to accuse Chinese primary schools of being highly homogeneous and impeding national unity: 1.Vernacular schools have been in existence ever since the pre-war years, and the homogeneous environment of Chinese primary schools is not something new. Moreover, more and more Malay and Indian students have attended Chinese primary schools in recent years. (2012: Non-Chinese students in Chinese primary schools at 14%) 2.No studies or statistics show that disunity in the country has been caused by the existence of vernacular education streams. 41

42. 3. The 'Rancangan Integrasi Murid untuk Perpaduan" (RIMUP) only allows students from different races to mix, but mixing is not equal to unity.mixing ≠unity 4. Even if the homogeneous environment of vernacular schools is said to be unfavourable to national unity, isn't this problem solved when students from national, Chinese and Tamil primary schools eventually merge and enter one national secondary schools (SMK)? 42

43. The concern of the Education Blueprint is not so much about the homogeneous environment in vernacular schools. And the same has also nothing to do with national unity. The Education Blueprint targets more at the main medium of instruction, and its ultimate objective is to build a national education system using a common language, BM as the main medium of instruction. 43

44. On page 7-17 of the Education Blueprint: "The ultimate objective is for the National schools to be the school of choice." 44

45. Let's then see how the Education Blueprint will be implemented: The education ministry will intervene in three stages for the sake of national unity: Stage 1 (2013-2015) Improve the BM standard of national-type primary schools Stage 2 (2016-2020) Scaling up the existing RIMUP programme, implement compulsory community service activities and strengthening moral education curriculum. 45

46. Stage 3 (2021-2025) Page 7-18: Reviewing schooling options and system structure At the final stage from 2021 to 2025, we " will see SKs and SMKs emerge as schools of choice of all parents, irrespective of ethnicity or socioeconomic background. The Ministry will continue to monitor levels of interaction and integration across different student group. Depending on the quality of these outcomes, the Ministry may consider reviewing the range of schooling options to determine if further changes are required to enhance the development of unity". 46

47. ★ If what the Education Blueprint intended is to resolve the problems of homogeneous environment problem in Chinese primary schools and national unity, then why bother to make the national primary and secondary schools the choice of all parents? Moreover, why at the final stage (2021-2025) when national primary and secondary schools are still unable to become the choice of all parents, schooling options have to be reviewed? 47

48. Q: Is the Education Blueprint implementing the ultimate objectives of the Razak Report 1956? Article 12 of the Razak Report: "The ultimate objective of educational policy in this country must be to bring together the children of all races under a national educational sysytem in which the national language is the main medium of instruction, though we recognise that process towards this goal cannot be rushed and must be gradual". 48

49. In the pretext of homogeneous environment and inequlity in BM standards, the Education Blueprint will from 2013 increase the number of lessons for BM and thereby reduce the lessons of Chinese language in Chinese primary schools. This measure is poised to progressively erode the nature and characteristics of Chinese primary schools, in the end making national schools the choice of all Malaysian parents. Conclusion: 49

50. If until the final stage of 2021-2025 the education ministry is still unable to achieve this ultimate objective in making national primary and secondary schools the choice of all parents, the ministry may proceed to review the schooling option and system structure. This would mean that the status of Chinese and Tamil primary schools may be eliminated. Conclusion: 50