1. Helen Ting Mu Hung IKMAS, National University of Malaysia
4th International Conference on Language and Education: Multilingual Education for All in Asia and the Pacific – Policies, Practices and Processes November 6-8, 2013 Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand Language-in-education policy in Malaysia: Context, implementation and challenges
Helen Ting Mu Hung
IKMAS, National University of Malaysia

2. Post-WWII British Malaya
1947 census of British Malaya:
Malays = 43.5%, Chinese = 44.7%, Indians = 10.3%
Sino-Malay violent conflicts after Japan surrendered
Contentions and intense interethnic negotiations over access to equal citizenship, political status, mother tongue education,etc

3. Pragmatic Multiculturalism
Modus operandi of inter-racial power sharing:
Alliance  Barisan Nasional
Limited mother-tongue education in National Education System
Politics of multiculturalism = negotiating tension between constructing Malay-dominated nation and accommodation of cultural diversity

4. 1955 Alliance Election Manifesto on Education
allow normal expansion of vernacular schools;
encourage rather than destroy the schools, language and culture of any race living in the country;
accord equal treatment to all schools;
ensure that its education policy would promote the cultural, economic, social and political development of the people as a nation.

5. International Trends affecting Language-in-education Policies in Malaysia
International norm: cultural homogeneity as ideal of nation, hallmark of national cohesion
 Social cohesion = cultural uniformity or homogeneity
Post-colonial ethno-nationalist leaders inculcate aspirations to project particular ethnic identity, culture or religion as well as values onto the state
nation-building efforts become a thinly veiled state
project to assimilate minorities
Post-WWII ‘human right revolution’  rethinking of role of language and ethnic identity in democratic scheme of nation-building (multiculturalism)
Importance of English to Malaysia as an open economy
The rise of Chinese economy
Internationalising trend of education standard setting

6. Malaysian Education System
Inherited schools taught in four different languages (English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil)
Now, 3 linguistic options as medium of instruction among public primary schools
Government secondary schools in Malay
There are also private English-medium or international secondary schools and community-managed Mandarin medium secondary schools

9. Challenges faced by Malaysian Education System
Cognitive performance of students below average international standards
Variance in standard between national and international assessments
Need to improve return on investment of public spending
Need to enhance quality of teachers
Need to achieve equitable student outcomes (rural-urban, gender, school types, indigenous minorities, socio-economic)
Limited range of linguistic proficiency
Overcentralisation in the administration of Education
Prevalent perception of “islamization” of national schools

11. Performance of ‘Orang Asli National Schools’ as proxy of Indigenous students

12. Situation of Indigenous Peoples’ Education
4% of all primary and secondary students
68% rural, 80% in Sabah and Sarawak
Poverty, geographical isolation (no preschool ed), inadequate training of teachers  lack of local understanding, community support, etc
Govt initiatives: 2 boarding schools, contextualised curriculum, inclusion of minority languages (Iban, Kadazan-Dusun, Semai), teacher recruitment from communities, literacy classes for parents

14. Enrolment in (public + private) schools for 2011 (Education Blueprint)
96% of cohort at primary level
91% of cohort at lower secondary schools
82% of cohort at upper secondary schools
19% of cohort did not complete 11 years of schooling (2011)
2000 Primary 1 student cohort
7% did not sit for PMR in 2008
36% failed to attain SPM minimum standard

16. Challenges Common for Tamil & Chinese Schools
Insufficient state allocation of funding for maintenance (operational and infrastructure)
Restrictive policy on building of new schools
Population movement leading to simultaneous overcrowding and under-enrolment of schools
High number of untrained teachers but problems getting resolved currently
Lack of effective planning and administrative power in education ministry to oversee needs of these vernacular schools
Low proficiency in Malay language

17. Differences between Chinese and Tamil Schools
strong community support across socio-economic divide
Regarded as providing best education among the three streams
Options to continue studying in Mandarin beyond primary level
Staunch preservation of the use of Mandarin as medium of instruction throughout six years
Community support increasing over past 10 years
Regarded as gen. low performing schools though image changing
Language switch at secondary level needed
Openness to accelerated switch to English or Malay at higher grade of primary schooling

18. Language Switch Challenge
23% of 2010 sjkc leavers went to remove class
Since 1995, sjk(c+t) students scoring a minimum of C for Malay UPSR result may skip remove class
2010 survey by NUTP among 159 Chinese students (11-18 years):
33% understood teaching in Malay
22% partially understood
36% didn’t understand;
8% understood nothing
Prof Rajendran: about 30% students from vernacular schools did badly in Malay (UPSR)

20. Language Transition in Secondary Schools
Santhiram (1999) found no correlation between the academic performance and school origins of Indian students in three secondary schools case study
Indian students from both streams did badly
Nonetheless, he found that those from Tamil primary schools had more positive self-esteem
segregation insulates minority from “psychic tensions”

21. Challenge of Learning Malay by Vernacular School Students
Inappropriate pedagogy (not as 2nd language)
Inappropriate teaching material
Students not exposed to conducive linguistic environment for oral practice
Some may score in written exams but not able to converse well in Malay
Remove class not always given due attention and resources in secondary schools

22. Problem of Dropouts Difficult to get facts and figures
Wee (Oct 2011) on public school statistics:
For period, 1.32% for primary and 9.42% for secondary (3.5% after deducting those found outside public system)
But 2002 study found only 75.5% of 1997 UPSR sjkc students finished Upper secondary
34.5% dropouts had problems with language switch
31% (work), 16.5% (not interested in study)

23. Government Plan to Improve Delivery (those related to language)
To recruit only top 30% school leavers for teacher training programs
To train bilingual teachers to teach Malay as a second language in first 2 years of vernacular schools
Close tracking of student Malay language performance in vernacular primary schools
To upskill English language teachers
To emphasise development of higher order thinking skills in new curriculum
Making Malay standard ‘uniform across all schools’

24. Recommendations by NGOs
Fair treatment of all school-types (resources allocation, building of new schools)
To set up an ‘Education Ombusman’ to ensure fair, transparent and effective execution of education policy
To set up administrative unit to resolve dropout problems especially among Indigenous minority students
Review teachers’ training system and promote multicultural sensitivity among teachers
Recognise, promote, and develop mother tongue education, especially among vulnerable indigenous minorities
Improve remove class delivery system