Why only Tamil schools carry the burden of identity

 

THE conversation around declining enrolment in Tamil vernacular schools is often filled with anxiety and accusations of cultural abandonment.

But to understand what’s happening, we need to listen to the quiet choices parents are making every day.

Look at our friends in other Indian communities—the Punjabi Sikhs, Malayalis, Telugus, and others. They don’t have the same vernacular school system. Yet, their cultural worlds are vibrant and strong. Their languages flourish in homes, temples, festivals, and community halls.

Their success shows us that culture isn’t housed in a single institution; it’s carried in the hearts of a thriving, confident people.

For many Tamil parents, the choice of school has become an agonising dilemma. It’s been framed as a referendum on loyalty: choose a Tamil school, or you’re turning your back on your heritage. This is an unfair burden to place on families.

In reality, parents are making practical decisions for their children’s futures. They are thinking about English fluency, exposure to science and technology, and a smoother path into secondary education and beyond.

They aren’t rejecting Tamil; they are refusing to let it become a barrier to their child’s mobility. They want their children to be both culturally rooted and globally ready.

The challenge we face isn’t about the weakness of our language but the fragility of a strategy that ties its entire survival to one type of school. True cultural strength isn’t about building walls around our children.

It’s about raising them to be so competent and self-assured that they choose to speak Tamil, celebrate its literature, and uphold its traditions—not out of compulsion but out of pride.

So, the pressing question isn’t “Why are parents leaving?” but “How can we adapt?” How can we transform our schools into centers of excellence that parents “aspire” to send their children to?

Imagine schools that master Tamil “alongside” English and Malay, that offer strong STEM programmes, and that produce students who are academically competitive and culturally proud.

Until we make that shift, enrolment trends will likely continue. Not because love for our culture is fading, but because parents, quite rationally, want the very best for their children.

Our task is to ensure that “the very best” includes a dynamic and resilient Tamil identity, carried forward by a new generation of successful, well-rounded Malaysians. 

KT Maran
Seremban, Negri Sembilan

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia.