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Najib: Vernacular schools stay |
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Posted by admin
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Wednesday, 03 December 2008 08:20 |
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By Farrah Naz Karim, NST PUTRAJAYA: Vernacular schools will stay for as long as the Chinese and Indian communities want them, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.
He said the policies were clear that the government would enable each citizen to opt for a school system of his choice.
Najib said Chinese and Tamil schools were not only stipulated in the law but the government had also given its commitment to vernacular education. "We have made our commitment that as long as the Chinese and Indians want these schools, they will continue to exist as part of the national school system."
He said amendments to the Education Act 1996 placed Chinese and Tamil schools as part of the national education system.
Najib said even the Razak Report of 1956, a foundation of the national education system, did not impose a deadline for the end of vernacular schooling in the country.
He was asked to comment on Jerlun MP Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir's call on Monday for an end to the current vernacular-school format.
Mukhriz suggested that these schools be merged into the national school system so that pupils would be able to integrate and interact better.
He had proposed that all schools come under one system with Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction except for Mathematics and Science, which would be in English.
Pupils, he added, could also learn their mother tongue or another language to enable them to be proficient in at least three languages.
In suggesting this, Mukhriz said a single education system would foster a spirit of unity and integrity among students at a young age as well as prevent sensitive and racial issues from cropping up in the future.
Najib said it was debatable that the polarisation of students was due just to vernacular schooling.
The Chinese and Indians felt that the schools were critical to their community, especially in the promotion of values, he added.
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