M. Bakri Musa
The Minister of Education will soon decide whether to continue the
teaching of science and mathematics in English in our schools. That
decision will not materially change the continuing decline in educational
achievements of Malays.
This harsh reality is the consequence of our national schools
– the default choice for most Malays – being abysmal failures. Most
non-Malays as well as affluent Malays are fully aware of this and thus
have long ago abandoned the system. Observe the steady stream of school
buses and private cars full of young non-Malays heading south on the
causeway every school-day morning. As for affluent Malays, ask where
Najib Razak and Hishammuddin Hussein send their children for their
education!
In today's economy, the most advantaged are those with high
science literacy and mathematical skills, as well as being fluent in more
than one language, with one of those languages being English, the language
of commerce and science. Fluency in English is no panacea of course; a
visit to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />India and the Philippines
will quickly disabuse us of that assumption.
The next most advantaged will be those fluent only in English.
The least advantaged would be those literate in only one language, and
that language is other than English. This unfortunately is the fate of
Malays today.
While one could attain high levels of science literacy and
mathematical skills without knowing English, that is true only if one's
primary language is Japanese, German, or any of the other already
developed languages. It is not true for Swahili or Urdu. It is
definitely not true for Malay, no matter how passionately our language
nationalists assert to the contrary. Even with those Germans and
Japanese, the crucial point often overlooked is that they are also
literate in English. Japanese children for example, learn English right
from kindergarten.
These educational deficiencies of Malays are long standing;
they cannot be solved through expensive investments in facilities and
personnel alone.
The problem is most critical, and equally most difficult to
overcome, with rural Malays. The cultural, intellectual, language and
other ambience at home and in the community are not conducive to these
children lifting themselves out of their trapped environment. They need
help desperately. To effectively do so, our leaders must be daring and
exceptionally innovative; resorting to pat answers would not do our
students justice.
English Schools in Rural Areas
In my earlier books I proposed setting up English schools in the kampongs.
It makes sense to begin there as those Malays are the ones with the
lowest proficiency in English, and thus would benefit most from such an
initiative. With their already high usage of Malay at home and in the
community, these pupils would not likely "forget" their native tongue if
they were to attend these exclusively-English schools.
This is not a novel or risky social experiment, rather the
resurrecting and improving of an old successful one. That was how Malays
of my and earlier generations received our education. And as Tun Mahathir
noted, we have not become any less Malay for the experience. Nor have we
degenerated into "brown Mat Sallehs," the expressed mortal fear of the
nationalists. Indeed that was how those ardent defenders of Malay
language as Nik Safiah and Hussein Ismail received their education and
enhanced their intellectual development. Now they want to deny today's
young Malays – their grandchildren – the very same opportunities that
they had enjoyed and benefited from.
While my proposal would be an improvement over the present
system, there are problems with its implementation. Politically, there
could be similar demands for such schools to be set up elsewhere,
especially in areas where the background level of Malay in the community
is low. Then we could potentially end up with situation akin to the bad
colonial days where students would be fluent in English but at the
expense of their proficiency in Malay. That would be unacceptable as
Malay is now our national language. Further, it would divert resources
and personnel away from rural areas, where the need is most desperate.
Then there is the ire of the nationalists. They would go
ballistic seeing those village children heartily singing Baa Baa Black
Sheep instead of Nyet Nyet Semut, fearing the cultural and other
"polluting" influences on our young. Telling them that those children
would continue singing our melodious Malay lullabies at home would not
reassure these nationalists.
A more practical problem would be in getting good teachers to
serve in rural areas, although this could be alleviated through generous
incentives like higher bonuses and providing living quarters. Not
readily surmountable would be that such schools would necessarily be
small; hence their academic offerings would be limited.
English-language Islamic Schools
To bypass these problems, I propose setting up English-medium Islamic
schools. Again I am not suggesting anything radical here, merely
extending an already successful experiment. I am simply proposing that
the successful formula of the International Islamic University (IIU) be
extended down to the school level.
Like IIU, these Islamic schools would use English as the medium of
instruction, be open to all, and teach religious as well as "secular"
subjects. These schools could be set up anywhere, not just in rural
areas. Consequently they could be in major towns and thus be of
sufficient size to offer a varied and rich curriculum.
In fact IIU already has its Islamic School, also using English as the
medium of instruction. Unfortunately its curriculum and pedagogical
philosophy are more madrasah-like, the antithesis of a modern educational
institution even though the school prepares its students for the GCE "A"
examination. The emphasis at that school is on students learning the
rituals of Islam and memorizing the Quran. I would prefer that those be
done outside the classroom.
The Islamic school I have in mind would be modeled after the many
excellent Christian – in particular Catholic – schools in America. Their
academic standing is such that they are the first choice for many
non-Christians, including Muslims. These schools are first and foremost
academic institutions, concerned primarily with education. They are
interested in making their students better citizens, not on producing
future priests or on proselytizing.
These schools regularly matriculate their students to highly competitive
universities to become engineers and doctors. Only a tiny fraction, if
any, would end up in the clergy. Likewise, my version of Islamic schools
would produce Malaysia's future scientists and scholars. These schools
are not meant to produce converts to Islam or turn students into ulama.
There are now many such Islamic schools in America, and their number is
rapidly growing such that the University of California, Irvine, currently
offers a teachers' credentialing certificate in Islamic Education.
Ultimately these schools would lead to the establishment of an
English-medium Islamic University modeled after and of the caliber of
Georgetown. Meaning, they would offer solid liberal education in a
rigorous academic environment but with an Islamic ambience, akin to the
Catholicism of Georgetown.
A more local but historical model of my Islamic school would be our old
missionary schools. They did a credible job in educating many
Malaysians, including our present Minister of Education Hishammuddin.
Just substitute their Christianity for Islam.
English-medium Islamic schools in Malaysia would overcome many
of the problems associated with my earlier suggestion of having English
schools in rural areas. For one, such schools could be set up in urban
areas and thus be of sufficient size to offer a rich and varied
curriculum. There would also be fewer difficulties in recruiting
teachers.
While English would be the medium of instruction, Arabic (and with it
jawi) would be taught as a second language. Islamic Studies would be
taught in English, but the emphasis there should be on teaching it as an
academic subject, not as theology.
In a typical seven-period day, one period would be devoted to Arabic and
another to Islamic Studies. The remaining five would be for regular or
"secular" subjects, including English, science, and mathematics. Science
and mathematics would be taught as per the current understanding, and not
as some presumed "Islamic" variant. The curriculum must include the
performing arts, and the extracurricular programs robust and varied to
include sports.
The emphasis should be on solid liberal education and critical
thinking. Literature for example would be taught not only as a means of
learning the language but also to develop the students' critical
faculties, as per Louise Rosenblatt's "Literature as Exploration"
philosophy. Students would be discussing Shakespeare's sonnets as well
as Rumi's rhymes.
Using English would go a long way in disabusing Malays of the
negative psychological connotation associated with learning that
language. We would no longer view English as the language of colonials
and infidels but as a necessary intellectual tool. For another, such
schools would truly educate their students, teaching them to think
critically as well as imparting to them modern skills and knowledge. Far
too often what goes on in existing Islamic schools is nothing more than
indoctrination – masquerading as education.
Properly executed, these schools would attract students from
abroad, especially the Middle East. These schools could be viable
business investments as well as contribute to making Malaysia an
educational hub.
Since these schools are open to all, they should get state
support. There is precedent for this; the old Christian missionary
schools also received governmental funding. Additionally such schools
should get a generous slice of the huge zakat and wakaf endowments. I
would also impose a surcharge of RM100 for every Hajj and umrah ticket
towards funding these schools.
As can be readily seen, my version of the Islamic school is
very different from the current Sekolah Kebangsaan Agama (SKA). Apart
from differences in admission policy and language of instruction (SKA
admits only Muslims and uses Malay), there would also be profound
differences in mission and teaching philosophy. SKA aspires to nurture
future pendakwah (missionaries), and like IIU's version, is more madrasah
than a modern educational institution.
My proposal transcends politics; it is also be a splendid way
to initiate conversations between Malay leaders in the various parties
for the betterment of our people. This dialogue is desperately needed as
our leaders are determined to go their separate and divisive ways. They
seem intent on erasing any commonality of objectives in the relentless
pursuit of their political goals.
English-medium Islamic schools may prove to be the effective
avenue to propel Malays up the educational ladder. The Islamic
imprimatur always sells. Our language nationalists would not dare oppose
such schools even if English were to be the medium of instruction. We
should capitalize on this. These schools could be the salvation for
Malays, just as Catholic schools were for impoverished and marginalized
Irish immigrants in America at the turn of the last century.
These are the issues I expect Hishammuddin and his senior
officers at the Ministry of Education to deliberate on, not flip flopping
on major policies. That they are not doing so is a gross dereliction of
duty. Unfortunately it is our young who bear the terrible burden of this
negligence.
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