NO FORGIVENESS FOR MASZLEE FROM CHINESE PARENTS: ‘WE SEND OUR CHILDREN TO CHINESE SCHOOLS TO LEARN THEIR MOTHER TONGUE, BAHASA & ENGLISH – JAWI WILL ONLY TAKE UP THEIR TIME’

PARENTS with children in Chinese-language primary schools don’t believe the Jawi writing lessons planned by the government will ever take off, now that the decision is left to parent-teacher associations (PTAs) and pupils’ parents.

The Education Ministry in a circular dated December 5 said vernacular schools are to reach a decision by using forms distributed to the PTA, or to parents in the case of schools without a PTA, which are to be filled and returned within 14 days.

Only a 51% simple majority is required either way for a decision to be reached, which is to be reported to the school headmaster, who will then inform the district education office.

Left to them, parents interviewed said they don’t want Jawi writing to be taught, not because they were against it, but because it would affect academic performance in other core subjects.

Parent Foo Boon Sian said year four pupils at SJK (vernacular schools) already have a lot on their plates.

“We send our children to Chinese schools so they can learn their mother tongue, Bahasa Melayu and English.

“If the Education Ministry allocated the time taken to teach Jawi writing for pupils to practise those languages, I don’t think any parent would be against that,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Another parent from Selangor, Tony Lim, said he opposes the teaching of Jawi as he wants his children to be focused on core subjects in school.

Tai Soon Peng, a parent from Penang, said many pupils are already struggling to keep up under the new primary school curriculum, and teachers are replacing “non-essential classes” like physical education, art and music with tuition classes.

“Pupils are already deprived of leisure activities. Since Jawi is an optional subject that does not help strengthen command of the national language, it is better not to make it a requirement,”  he said.

The circular said the cabinet had decided at a meeting on August 14 that Jawi writing for vernacular schools would be called “Introduction to Jawi writing”, instead of “khat”.

It will be treated as part of the Bahasa Melayu subject with the aim of teaching pupils to appreciate the art, heritage and history of the Malay language. It will also take up only three pages of the Bahasa Melayu syllabus in year four.

But parent Grace Gan doubted this objective would be achieved, since Jawi writing would only be approached in an introductory manner.

And since it is not the spoken or written Bahasa Melayu that is used for communication today, she said teaching Jawi would be a waste of time.

“It won’t help foster inter-community and inter-racial relations either,” she said.

Another parent, Samantha Tan, said it is better if pupils concentrate on the three main languages – Bahasa Melayu, English and Mandarin.

“In its current form, Jawi will not be taught in-depth as a subject, so it’s just a waste of resources. Let those who are interested to learn it do so as an extracurricular activity instead of forcing it upon pupils,” she said.

Parental rejection

Several headmasters of vernacular schools are ready with the questionnaire forms to be given to parents and their PTA when the school year begins in January. One Chinese school in Selangor is also planning a parent-teacher conference after the Chinese New Year to explain the matter to parents.

One principal interviewed said he is expecting parents to most likely reject the introduction to Jawi.

Another principal of a Chinese school in Selangor said parents at his school are also worried of what they view as “religious encroachment” into schools and doubted that parents would approve the classes.

“These are the concerns of the Chinese community. The parents are also worried that this is a completely new type of calligraphy and could muddle the waters for their children.

“If it is inconsequential whether pupils learn it or not, then why waste time on it?”

The principal, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said if parents at his school decided not to have Jawi writing taught, teachers would then skip the three pages in the Bahasa Melayu textbook.

A headmaster of a Chinese school in Johor, meanwhile, said parents at his school felt Jawi writing is not a useful skill for their children’s future.

Parents have also suggested that Jawi writing be incorporated into the activities of Bahasa Melayu language clubs or associations in schools, so that those interested in writing the script can learn it.

“That way, children will not be forced to learn Jawi, and those who join the association can learn it as part of extracurricular activities,” he said.

Another concern principals have is the lack of qualified teachers to teach Jawi writing.

A Selangor Chinese school principal said the ministry’s guidelines state that training will be provided but questioned whether it would be sufficient for teachers to teach Jawi writing effectively and correctly.

The ministry’s guidelines state that schools may appoint a Bahasa Melayu teacher to send for a training course that will last two to three days. This teacher is then to instruct other teachers at their school on how to teach Jawi writing.

The ministry’s circular also states that should a vernacular school decide to adopt Introduction to Jawi for its year four pupils next year, the same cohort must continue with the rest of the Jawi syllabus for year five in 2021 and year six in 2022.

Schools that did not distribute questionnaires to parents to decide on teaching the classes will automatically be considered as consenting to it.

The move to introduce Jawi writing, initially called khat calligraphy when the plan was first announced earlier this year, has been a political hot potato for Pakatan Harapan.

It remains an emotional issue for proponents of vernacular school education, which in turn has drawn harsh and sometimes racist reactions from Malay lobby groups.

The current arrangement – leaving vernacular schools’ PTAs and parents to decide, and cutting down the content from six to three pages – is seen as a way to stick to the plan which was first mooted under the Barisan Nasional administration, but in a manner that is not intrusive and burdensome to vernacular schools and teachers.

– https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/