Mischievous to imply vernacular schools obstacle to national unity - DAP

The recently announced nation-building module called 'Bina Bangsa' by Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid has drawn flak from DAP for it contains loopholes that will hinder its implementation, says DAP Parliamentary Spokesperson for Education, Science and Technology, Zairil Khir Johari.

Zairil who is also Bukit Bendera MP in a statement issued Thursday, questioned the need for the module to be introduced for vernacular primary schools when the non-Bumiputera enrollment at national schools were at an all-time low.

"The idea to encourage more cross-cultural engagement is of course, laudable.

"However, there are deep flaws to the Minister's logic when it is suggested that this programme should only be applicable to vernacular schools," said Zairil.

Contrary to general perception, Zairil said national schools are actually now more mono-ethnic in its make up as compared to vernacular schools.

"While it is true that national schools in the 1960s and 1970s could boast of high non-Bumiputera enrolment, this is no longer the case.

"In fact, according to the Malaysia Education Blueprint (MEB), Bumiputera students now make up 94 per cent of enrolment in national primary schools," said Zairil, adding that this meant that non-Bumiputera enrollment in national schools has dropped to only six per cent.

Meanwhile, Zairil added that non-Chinese enrollment in Chinese vernacular schools has increased to 12 per cent and is rising.

"This effectively means that Chinese schools are more multiracial compared to national schools," said Zairil.

"By suggesting that only vernacular schools need to undergo “nation-building” programmes, it carries the mischievous implication that vernacular schools are an inherent obstacle to national unity," he said.

According to him, this is a hypothesis with no empirical basis.

"It is not the demographic make-up of a school or the language of instruction that determines national unity," said Zairil.

Instead of shifting the blame for the lack of national unity among Malaysians on the multiple-stream education system Malaysia, Zairil said the Education Minister should look into the values that are imparted as well as the quality of education available, especially in national schools.

"The more critical question is, why are less non-Bumiputera parents sent their children to national schools while more and more Bumiputera parents sent their children to Chinese vernacular schools?" asked Zairil.

It was recently reported that the 'Bina Bangsa' module would be introduced for vernacular primary schools to address the lack of interaction between races among school children.

According to Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, it was difficult to attract non-Malays to national schools because of the existence of vernacular schools that cater to the Chinese and Tamil mother tongues.