Non-Chinese make up around 20% of pupils in Malaysia’s Chinese primary schools

More than 100,000 children, or around one-fifth of pupils, in Malaysia’s Chinese primary schools are non-Chinese, and many are struggling with their studies in an environment where most subjects are taught in Mandarin, said a new series of reports by the Malaysian media.

Data from the Education Ministry and Dong Jiao Zong, or the United Chinese School Committees’ Association and the United Chinese School Teachers’ Association of Malaysia, shows that the number of non-Chinese pupils in Malaysia’s Chinese-vernacular schools

has risen steadily over the decades.

In 1989, non-Chinese made up only 3 per cent of the population of pupils in Chinese primary schools. By 1998, the percentage had gone up to 8.7 per cent before rising again to 11.8 per cent in 2010, and then 20 per cent in 2020.

A majority of these pupils study in rural Chinese primary schools. Their parents enrol them in the vernacular schools as many believe in the practical and economic value of the Chinese language, according to Dong Jiao Zong’s survey findings.

Many parents also find Chinese schools’ learning environment, with their strict discipline, to be more conducive to their children’s studies. Other parents say they simply like Chinese culture, or were influenced by their friends.

While more non-Chinese pupils are entering such schools, the experience remains difficult for many who are thrust into a completely unfamiliar environment, especially when they have not learnt Chinese in pre-school at all, according to a series of reports titled SJKC: Reality For Non-Chinese Pupils, produced by Media in Arms, a collaboration involving The Star, Sin Chew Daily, Sinar Harian, Astro Awani and Tamil newspaper Malaysia Nanban.

The series cited Ms Rafizah Hussin, a mother of four who enrolled her three older daughters in a Chinese primary school.

She said her twin daughters, who studied in SJKC Chung Hua Klang, struggled with writing in Chinese, which affected their overall academic performance.

“Although they could read (Chinese) and converse in Mandarin, their writing skills were mediocre. They knew the answers during exams but couldn’t write them,” Ms Rafizah said.

She added that their proficiency in the Malay language was also not good.

Attending online classes during the Covid-19 pandemic made it even more challenging for their learning, she said, adding that her children just could not follow the history and science classes that were taught in Mandarin.

When her daughters were in Primary 6, she had no choice but to transfer them to a national school, where Malay is the main language of instruction.

Now, she said she is paying more attention to her third daughter’s studies to ensure she can do well. She also enrolled her youngest daughter, who is four, in a Chinese pre-school in Kota Kemuning to prepare her for Chinese primary school.

Mr Cheah Lek Aee, chairman of Jiao Zong, the United Chinese School Teachers’ Association, said: “Teachers in Chinese primary schools teach in Mandarin from the first day of class. If children cannot understand or do not have a good foundation in the Chinese language, they may fall behind by Year Two or Year Three.”

Mr Cheah advises non-Chinese parents who intend to send their children to Chinese schools to ensure they learn the basics of the language from pre-school.