YOURSAY | 'National schools do not make the grade for quality of education.’

Yoursay: Abolishing vernacular schools would be a 'policy nightmare', KJ says

Avatar_3e8a: Vernacular schools should be abolished if we want to achieve national unity.

However, we should not sacrifice the practical for the abstract, that is, our children's education for the ideal of national unity.

Therefore, it can only be done if we have the fullest confidence in our education system and the people running it.

The question should be "Do we?", and if not, how to fix it?

Shazamani: It's all about quality. Once upon a time, Chinese parents preferred to send their children to government schools because they offered their children a brighter future. I remember then some Chinese schools were struggling - teetering on collapse.

Chinese are, by nature, very practical people. To them, bigotry is an unprofitable enterprise.

The government can encourage people to attend national schools, but if the quality of education is as poor as it is now, they will still prefer to send their children somewhere else.

Caripasal: Racists want you to believe vernacular schools are a breeding place for racism and racial disharmony. Not true. Students are not taught to hate other races/culture. It is pure education.

Every student is taught to be a good student/citizen and to work hard. A large majority of these students will end up in secondary national schools.

It is the racists who always use vernacular schools for their political gain.

The syllabus in these vernacular schools is almost identical to that of any national school.

Do not be jealous just because their education standard is higher, and the result of hard work.

It is not a crime to learn their own language or culture, besides the national language.

Anonymous_1371482984: Those calling for the abolition vernacular schools because it is a hindrance to national unity should first of all look at the present government schools.

Do the students there mix without regard to their race and religion? I don't think so.

What about Mara colleges and university? Why is there no one calling for their abolition or for them to open up to other races?

The stumbling block to national unity is the New Economic Policy (us and them) and the radicalisation of Islam. Muslims and non-Muslims do not eat and play like before.

DolR: National schools just need to get their act together, be relevant and prepare students for the future.

Why do parents send their children to private or international schools with their sky-high fees? Their syllabus is of an international standard and produces all-rounders.

Why are non-Chinese sending their children to Chinese schools in increasing numbers when national schools are free and fully funded, but not necessarily well-equipped? You figure it out.

In the commercial world, it’s all about competition, and not monopoly. If your product can’t sell, you don’t ban or create barriers for others so that you control the market.

This happened to Proton during the protection period with its high duties for foreign makes. When the market opened, Proton collapsed.

In short, your product is most important. You must make national schools the no 1 choice, then parents will send their children there without hesitation.

Education Ministry, where is your road-map to international standard education after more than a year of a new government?

This is not to say you cannot propose side-orders like black shoes, swimming lessons in hotel, khat/Jawi, but where is the main course, the roadmap, the blueprint?

JW: Umno leader Khairy Jamaluddin (KJ), there is some merit to what you said. It was well argued with substance and logic. Still, I think it is kind of late.

Isn't it true that over the years, all kinds of stakeholders have wanted to mould and shape education their own way?

Your next step, KJ, is to come up with a way to deal with that challenge.

Wg321: A national school system is not a national school system with the existence of UiTM and Mara junior schools/colleges.

The problem with Khairy is that when he thinks of vernacular schools, he only associates it with Chinese and Tamil schools.

PW Cheng: It is the government's duty to make national school acceptable to every child, meaning having an education system which can give a good foundation for students to achieve better careers in life, like in the 50s, 60s and early 70s, and not as a centre for ‘dakwah’ as espoused by our black shoe minister.

An example in the early era before Dr Mahathir Mohamad destroyed our education system - most of us wanted to go to an English-medium school because we knew it would help us in our careers later in life.

Harry Mou: Indeed, you have no need to undo vernacular schools. All you need is to revamp and improve, de-racialise the national schools – after a few years, the ‘sekolah kebangsaan’ (national schools) will be preferred schools.

But are you sure racists and the religiously bigoted want this? Or they prefer to continue harping on vernacular schools in order to play racial and religious politics?

GMK: Unity will not be achieved simply by adopting a single national school system, simply because vernacular schools are not the main cause of disunity in this country.

It is the politicians who are making it an issue.

The Analyser: Indecision has been the bane of Malaysian development. Too many people have sat back and let things happen.

That is largely why Pakatan Harapan has failed. With no consensus on anything and a penchant for constantly disagreeing, Harapan was sitting duck for a Mahathir takeover.

The only way out of the existing chaos called an education system is to abolish all vernacular schools and start a totally new education philosophy:

- English as the sole language of education. Introduce other languages at the secondary level. The benefits of a multilingual society do not exist unless there is a common language.

- Eliminate all religions from national schools. Eliminate examinations and homework, and concentrate on education, not on learning.

- Spend the early years educating children to understand themselves and the environment in which they live.

- Only introduce formal education of Science, Maths, Literature, etc, when young people are old enough to comprehend what and why they are being taught.

Anonymous_1560865429524: Malaysia is not a homogeneous country. We are not a homogeneous people.

Malaysia has evolved from ‘Tanah Melayu’. Years and generations of Chinese and Indians helping to build the nation have metamorphosised the country into something much more than mere ‘Tanah Melayu’.

This is normal. Societies evolve from migration and trade.

Today Malaysia is multi-cultural, multi-lingual, multi-religious. A melting pot. There is strength in diversity.

Why fight this? Why not embrace it as our uniqueness?

Drngsc: There must be political will to do what is good for Malaysian education. First 24 months, do the heavy lifting and reforms. The next 36 months, sugar-coating and fine-tuning.

There will always be a handful of noise makers who will shout and make noise. Be confident. These are a minority. The government must work for the majority.

It looks increasingly obvious that the problem now is that there are factions in Harapan who want BN 2.0.  

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