Okay, this topic keeps coming back again and again. So, I thought that I’ll try to put down a more cogent argument on what it is that I think is wrong with our vernacular schools, Chinese ones (SJC) in particular. I was out at Ace Hardware shopping for some stuff for my car when I heard on the radio that Mukhriz has called for the closing down of vernacular schools as they are a cause of racial polarisation in Malaysia.
I would like to put on record that I am in agreement with Mukhriz on this issue. By its very nature, vernacular schools are divisive and nobody can argue against that. They are little ethnic bubbles that are just just waiting to burst. Recent statistics have quoted that almost 90% of Malaysian Chinese parents send their kids to SJC schools these days and I think that it is a bad idea. I will try to outline some simple reasons below.
- Perceptions on quality
There is a public perception that the SJC schools provide a better quality of education than our SK schools. I say that this is a perception because there is no truth to this matter. Let me put forth a couple of counter arguments. Any logical person can instantly see that SJC schools cannot possibly provide a better education.The students need to learn certain subjects in multiple languages, which reduces the amount of time a teacher can spend on each. As a result, the syllabus is spread too thinly across and the students end up learning little in all the languages. Furthermore, the classes are packed full with easily 60 students in a single class, thus worsening the teacher-student ratio and further acerbating the above situation.
As a result, the parents end up having to send their kids to a series of after-school tuition classes. These things are mushrooming everywhere. If the quality of the SJC schools were truly that good, these tuition centres would not be flooded with SJC students, of which they are. Of course, there are also SK students at these tuition centres but my point is that, whatever perception of quality that the SJC schools have is exactly that, a perception only.
- Lies, damn lies and statistics
Of course, one can argue that the examination statistics and anecdotal evidence seems to show that SJC schools provide students with a better education. However, we all know that statistics lie and these ones are lying more than others. I will put forth more statistics to show why everyone has been hoodwinked into thinking that SJC schools are better.According to some statistics quoted by MCA, about 30% of the SJC students drop out of school before finishing SPM. One can assume that these are the bottom 30% of the student population and drop out of school for more lucrative market opportunities. That is your reason why the statistics favour SJC schools. The bottom 30% of the SK student population does not drop out of school but will linger on until they at least finish SPM. Granted, they will cause all kinds of social problems but at the very least, even the bottom 30% finishes school.
Then, there is the anecdotal evidence of SJC students who move from a SJC primary school onto an SMK secondary school. They tend to see that they perform better than many of the students in the SMK school. However, what they don’t realise is that the top students from an SK primary school take a very different education path from that of SJC schools.
To most SK students, the most important examination is the UPSR examination and not the SPM examination. After finishing primary school, all the Tier-1 students are taken out of normal schools and placed into elite schools such as MCKK, TKC and other residential schools. The ones whom are left in SMK schools are the Tier-2 ones who then leave after PMR, leaving the Tier-3 ones to finish their education in SMK schools.
- Cultural shock therapy
Which leads me to my main point. The SJC students generally live in an ethnic bubble. I use the term “bubble” to indicate not only the isolated nature of its existence but also how fragile it is. This existence is built on an foundation of unfounded lies and statistics. Of course, it gives everyone inside the bubble a feel good factor but we have all got to confront reality at some point.We have all got to realise by now that the Malaysian Chinese community only make up about 25% of our population. Once we leave the SJC bubbles, we will need to meet the other 75% of the country. I have seen this many times and the pupils from SJC schools have problems interacting with the other 75% either at university or at work.
This is easy to understand when you consider that the typical SJC student is generally only proficient at speaking Mandarin. Often, they have trouble speaking any other language and when you are unable to converse with your friends, you cannot possibly interact well. As a result, SJC students tend to stick to other SJC students and end up in an exclusive club of Mandarin speakers.
While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, it is a problem when it comes to issues of national unity. Most SJC students will defend the use of Mandarin to its last, including those in the political parties. However, doesn’t anyone find it curious that the current spat between the #1 and #2 of MCA is being fought in English?
Anyway, this entry is much longer than usual and I would like to end with a simple point. The SJC schools provide no significant benefits to the community and country when compared with SK schools. Instead, they are an exclusive ethnic bubble that is waiting to burst. Granted, they are not the only factor, but nobody can deny that they are a contributing factor to the worsening ethnic situation in Malaysia.
So, I will support any motion to dismantle the vernacular education in Malaysia and to force everyone into national schools while there is still time to undo the damage. However, I will also add one final caveat. If the vernacular schools are to be shut down, then we need to also open up MCKK, TKC and MRSM schools to everyone.
PS: Comments are open below.
Sybreon Ones Nought 
Coming from SJK, I think people tend to have this perception that SJK has better quality than SK because SJK tends to work the students harder with more work. With regards to teaching science in two languages, I think they have extra classes until later in the afternoon, so I don’t agree with thinning of the syllabus. But, during my era it was only in one language. Although that doesn’t mean that SJK can produce more geniuses, it tends to force people to learn more. An analogy is between SIngapore and Malaysia. It doesn’t mean that Singapore can produce more geniuses than Malaysia, it is just that Singaporeans are worked harder on average due to their system. Regarding having a bigger class in SJC, I tend to agree that on superficial level it sounds not healthy, but there is no way to compare between what kind of attention a pupil in SK get in smaller classes, and how significant does this factor contribute towards quality. I somehow still believe that the quality meant here has some grounds, but how far it goes towards producing talents at the end is still questionable. As I don’t totally agree with the teaching methadology of SJC, I think a change is needed.
Shawn, i do agree with you when you point out about cultural shock and your second point about the statistics. It is quite hard to compare if the 1st tier students are being moved away after UPSR.
Nevertheless, I still think there are good stuff from SJK that should be incorporated into the new system if it will ever be implemented. As I have mentioned, the ‘quality’ from SJK, or rather the perception, came from a lot of hardwork by the teachers and students. Of course, there are a lot of advantages and strength from SK as well which I wish I could gain.
I think in Malaysia, the vernacular schools issue has become a very sensitive issue. To many Chinese educated Malaysians, Chinese schools have become the last bastion, to defend the so called identity of a “Chinese”. This sentiment has been elevated to the level of “faith”, much like a religion. A good analogy will be as if Islam to the Malay community. I think what the government needs to do is to open up those elite schools to all races, and convince people that SK will provide education of good standard. If the government try to shut down vernacular schools by force, I foresee that will be great political turmoil. I hope the UMNO Putras will not manipulate this issue, for the sake of their party election.
Well, I didn’t mean “burn down” literally. The vernacular schools can be phased out in stages. In the mean time, a third language should be taught in schools. This can immediately start with Mandarin, Tamil, French, Arabic, which are existing SPM papers. However, looks like many political parties are manipulating this issue. I really pity the regular people who have to make sense of all the noise.