1. CURRENT POLICIES, DEVELOPMENTS AND CHALLENGES IN MOTHER TONGUE EDUCATION AMONGST PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIA
Presented By
Ramanathan Nagarathinam
(Assistant Director)
Head Of Tamil Language Unit
Curriculum Development Centre
Ministry Of Education Malaysia

2. Population of Malaysia
50.8%
Chinese
23.3%
Indians
6.9%
Indigenous
11.1%
Others
1.5%
Non-Citizens

3. Number of Spoken Languages
Peninsular Malaysia 40
Sabah 54
Sarawak 47
Widely Spoken Languages
Malays
English
Chinese
Tamil
Kadazandusun
Iban

4. Constitutional Provisions
Article 152 of the Malaysian Federal Constitution states that the official-national language is the Malay language. However, the Constitution guarantees the freedom of learning and using of other languages, except for official purposes
Education Act 1996 guarantees that:
The Chinese or Tamil language shall be made available if the parents of at least fifteen pupils in the school so request;
(ii) indigenous languages shall be made available if it is reasonable and practical to do so and if the parents of at least fifteen pupils in the school so request;

5. Influence of Policies and Ideology in Education System
Education Ordinance
1957
Education Act
1961
1996
Rukunegara (National Ideology)
1969
National Philosphy of Education
1990
Type of Primary School
Medium Of Instruction
National Primary School
Malay
Chinese National-type Primary School
Chinese
Tamil National-type Primary School
Tamil

6. Secondary Education
Pupils from the three types of primary schools merge at the secondary level for another five years of uninterrupted compulsory schooling. At this level, the medium of instruction in all schools is the Malay language. Those students from the Chinese national-type and Tamil national-type schools who have not acquired the basic proficiency in Malay are given an opportunity to go through a year of proficiency exposure in Malay before they join the others in the secondary schools.

7. Introduction of Ethnic Languages
Year
Iban
1987
Kadazandusun
1995
Semai
1997
Number of Primary Schools Offering
Minority Languages in 2007
Language
Number of Schools
Iban
282
Kadazandusun
369
Semai 30

8. Number of Primary Schools in Malaysia as of 2006
Types of Schools
No. of Schools
National Primary Schools
5774
Chinese National-Type Primary Schools
1288
Tamil National-Type Primary Schools
523
Special Schools (Disabled Students) 28
Total
7616
Orthography
Malay, Kadazandusun, Iban and Semai orthographies use the Roman script ( the same script as English) while Chinese and Tamil have their own unique orthographies.

9. Teaching and Reading Materials
Teaching and learning materials for mother tongue languages are prepared by the Ministry of Education.
The Text Book Division has been devising policies and guidelines, as well as encouraging writers to produce high quality text books and teacher’s guides.
Text books are provided free of charge to teachers and students.
The Curriculum Development Centre and The Education Technology Division under The Ministry of Education produce teaching modules and supportive materials.

10. Teacher Training
Training for Malay, Chinese and Tamil teachers is based on tests and interviews.
Qualification for Teacher Training College lecturers is being upgraded to Masters and Ph.D levels.
Selection of teachers for mother tongue languages such as Kadazandusun, Iban and Semai is done by choosing candidates who have acquired minimum level of proficiency in the respective languages.

11. Current Changes Pilot Project for Chinese and Tamil
Languages in National Schools.
English as a Medium of Instruction for the Teaching of Maths and Science in Primary Schools.
Concern about National Unity and Nation-Building.
Common Syllabus and Content.

12. Action by Malaysian Government
Malaysian government has been willing and open when it comes to discussing issues of mother tongue teaching and learning.
The government is in constant dialogue with leaders of the various ethnic groups to arrive at the most amicable formula in addressing the needs of the nation while taking into interest, the feelings and requests of the various ethnic groups.

13. The creation of Malay, Chinese and Tamil medium primary schools is an effort to introduce language literacy.
Efforts of the government have brought about effective changes in transforming these schools into knowledge based institutions
Malay as the national language has played a leading and effective role in transforming a rural agrarian community into a dynamic, industrial and commercial urban community

14. CONCLUSION
The Malaysian government cannot afford to look into the possibility of introducing the teaching and learning of all ethnic languages because at the moment, the main concern is unity and nation building.
As the country evolves in becoming a developed nation, possibilities and opportunities to make available the teaching and learning of these ethnic languages may become a reality.

15. THANK YOU
TERIMA KASIH