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PETALING JAYA: The growing number of non-Chinese students in Chinese primary schools shows that SJK (C) have become a place for students of all races and ethnic groups to learn, live and communicate together in harmony, he says the Malaysian Chinese Language Council (MCLC), President Datuk Eddie Heng Hong Chai.
“18.8% of the students currently enrolled in SJK (C) are non-native speakers and the number has been increasing year after year. This shows that Chinese primary schools are not only specifically targeting the Chinese community.
“SJK (C) students are made up of multiple races and ethnic groups, fully reflecting Malaysia’s diverse society and the ability of these schools to tailor education to a variety of communities,” he said.
An increasing number of parents, some who cannot even converse in Mandarin, of other races have become more willing to send their children to SJK (C) s, Heng said, adding that the awareness of mastering the Chinese language and the benefits that The following have also skyrocketed among the Indian and Malaysian communities.
“At the same time, the SJK (C) still place a lot of emphasis on improving students’ mastery of the national language – Bahasa Malaysia.
“With the support of the Ministry of Education, MCLC together with various educational organizations jointly established the ‘Malay Language Proficiency Improvement Committee of Chinese Elementary Schools’ in 2018 to boost students’ knowledge of our national language.
“This effort was warmly welcomed by the ministry, as well as Malaysian academics from more than 20 higher education institutions across the country, who were actively involved in the initiative to boost Mastery of the Malay language,” he said.
He added that the board of directors, principals, teachers and parents of Chinese primary schools have made great efforts over the past two decades to improve students’ knowledge of Bahasa Malay to the current level.
Heng was commenting in response to recent accusations by University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) professor Teo Kok Seong that Chinese primary school students could not master Bahasa Malay and can only communicate in Chinese, hampering national unity.
Allegations that Chinese elementary school students are only fluent in their mother tongue are false, Heng said, adding that enrolling children in vernacular schools does not disrupt racial harmony.
“The 2019 UPSR results released by the ministry showed that the Malay language pass rate in Chinese primary schools has reached 90%. Approximately 40% of those students earned a grade of A.
“The approval rate for the Malay comprehension was 89.69%, with 38.79% of that number scoring A. The approval rate for the Malay composition was 87.74%, with a 41.43% with a score of A, ”Heng said.
Teo also proposed unifying schools and education at a conference earlier this week, where he described the use of the Malay language by all ethnic groups in Kelantan as a successful example of unifying schools and education.
Claiming Teo’s comments were unfounded, Heng said Kelantan’s population of 1.85 million consisted of 96% (1,776,000) Malays, 3% (55,500) Chinese, and only about 1% (18,500) Indians and other ethnic groups. .
He added that although Kelantan has a small population of Chinese, there are 15 Chinese primary schools and one independent secondary school in Kelantan.
“Among the 5,432 students in Chinese primary schools, 40% (2,173) are not Chinese, and most are Malaysian students,” he said.
Heng said he appreciated Teo’s solutions to improve Mastery of the Malay language among students in Chinese schools, if he had any.
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