WHILE stressing the importance of education in an increasingly competitive world, Assistant Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dr Annuar Rapaee strongly believes it’s a holistic and inclusive education policy that will determine the quality of education delivered.
He says a good education policy will bring out the best in human resources to meet the needs of the nation and its industries.
In an interview with thesundaypost, Dr Annuar, who is also Assistant Minister of Public Health and Housing, shared his views and suggestions on education, including Chinese-medium education, for the future generations of Sarawakians.
Dr Annuar Rapaee
Q: Will a one-size-fits-all education policy augur well for efforts to produce quality and competitive human capital?
A: First, we have to understand the education policy in Malaysia does not suppress the wish of the other communities to have their schools. That’s why we have SK (national primary schools), SJKC (Chinese national-type primary schools) or SJKT (Tamil national-type primary schools). Moreover, we also have Chinese Independent schools.
SJKC are fully supported by the government in term of teachers whereas for the 14 Chinese Independent schools in Sarawak, the state government has allocated a substantial yearly grant – RM9 million for this year. This shows the government is acknowledging the importance of Chinese Independent schools and their contributions towards educating the younger generation.
For me, it’s all right for a state within a federation to have its education policy which suits it best as this will create healthy competition. Let’s say, Sarawak excels in education, the other states will likely follow in its footsteps or they will send their children to Sarawak to study.
Flexibility in education policy also implies that parents are free to determine the type of school that suits their children best. After all, as parents, they have the right to decide what is best for their children. So, they can send their children to SK, SJKC, or SJKT. We cannot stop parents from sending their children to SJKC and insist they must send their children to SK or vice-versa. We want to ensure a healthy form of competition among the schools across the country. This will lead to the democratisation of education where everyone has equal rights in the choice of education.
My whole point is the government should look at education policy as a very open policy where a state that wants to develop whatever education policy it has should not be restricted but supported. For example, Sarawak wants to set up five international schools; such efforts should be supported, not only by the federal government but also the general public. This is most important as it will raise the educational bar in Sarawak. Furthermore, the use of English should not be construed as being non-patriotic. We should accept the fact that each Malaysian should know at least three languages – their mother tongue, English, and Malay.
There is, of course, no question about the strengthening of our national language – Bahasa Malaysia (BM). And the policy of teaching languages in school has to start as early as Standard 1.
To me, if you have a ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy, it may not bode well for education as each state has its uniqueness and strengths. According to Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) Report under Article 17 (a) which states, “although Education [item 13 (a) of the Federal List in the Ninth Schedule]will be a federal subject, the present policy and system of administration of education in North Borneo and Sarawak (including their present Ordinances) should be undisturbed and remain under the control of the Government of the State until that Government otherwise agrees. In particular (i) the present policy in the Borneo States regarding the use of English should continue”.
What’s more important are the results of human resources we want to produce. If the policy is very restrictive in terms of producing human resource, then that policy is not good. But bear in mind, whatever policy we have, it may not suit every state in Malaysia. For example, as Sarawak has its uniqueness, perhaps, we can create our education policy to produce better human resources.
In other words, whatever education policy we have, it must be very open to giving every citizen the right to choose what is good for them and to support their decision to build up their potential.
Q: Why is it important for one to be multilingual and what are the merits of knowing one’s mother tongue?
A: Students should be multilingual, definitely not monolingual. This is the way forward for Sarawak because of the different ethnic groups and their backgrounds. Undoubtedly, learning more languages, apart from the national language (BM) has a lot of merits, including a greater awareness to strengthen closer intercultural and communication-related understanding. In Sarawak, I would like to propose we preserve our mother tongue and learn BM and English at the same time. In other words, if your mother tongue is Mandarin, then you must learn BM and English. And if your mother tongue is Malay, you must learn English and another language.
You must strive to give them common denominators or you will have a situation where there will be no communication between sectors of your society. I believe that rightly, a monolingual person is a problem to himself and his society. He can’t communicate with the other communities. It’s also not good for the community because there is no interaction. The chauvinist, bigot, or extremist is very often a monolinguist; his mind has no windows into other worlds. On the other hand, you will find with knowledge of another language which means an understanding of a different culture and civilisation, more windows in the mind will open, resulting in greater tolerance and understanding.
Naturally, it’s important to know one’s mother tongue to preserve one’s cultural heritage and face the problems of society with greater confidence.
Q: Can you share your views about rural schools in Sarawak?
A: In Sarawak, we have many rural schools and so they should be given due emphasis. If we don’t take care of them in terms of adequate facilities and quality of teachers, among others, rural school children might continue to lag further behind their urban counterparts. In rural schools, 90 if not 100 per cent of the school children are from the lower-income group. So, we should focus on these schools to give the children a better future.
If rural schools are still dilapidated, lacking in teachers and facilities, how then do you expect these children to improve? To have better outcomes, the government should focus on rural education. In contrast, most urban schools are in better condition and most students have access to tuition. These schools have adequate facilities and more importantly, good teachers – unlike rural areas which are short of teachers. We should have enough teachers to teach option subjects in rural areas.
Q: Is it true to say poor or absence of Internet connectivity in rural areas does not bode well for education?
A: As you are aware, we are now in the digital era and Internet access and connectivity play a pivotal role in disseminating information and knowledge. With the unprecedented global health challenge from Covid-19, the use of the Internet has gained further traction – from doing business, working from home, to online teaching and learning.
The question now is how are teachers in rural schools to teach online when Internet connectivity is poor. When it comes to education, not only that schools have to be properly built but Internet connectivity has to be given emphasis as well. In the meantime, we should use other means to help rural school children. But I do agree if the Internet connectivity is poor, rural students will be left behind. In this regard, both the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) should collectively ensure all rural schools have good Internet connectivity to provide a level playing field. That is why the Sarawak government will supply every primary school with raspberry pi computers in addition to what the schools now have to boost interests in digital learning and robotics in line with IR 4.0.
Otherwise, don’t even bother talking about equality in education which is not only about having sufficient books, teachers, and facilities, but also good Internet connectivity in this high-tech era.
Q: What can you say about the trend these days where more non-Chinese parents are sending their children to SJKC? A town Chinese primary school in Sibu – SJK (C) Uk Daik – has a pupil population of 300 with non-Chinese accounting for 69 per cent (or 203 pupils) of the total intake. Another such school SJK (C) Thian Hua in Sibu Jaya, a satellite town of about 35,000 people, has a pupil population of 759 with non-Chinese making up 71 per cent or (544 pupils) of the overall enrolment.
A: As you are aware, everyone thinks SJKC offer a higher standard of education compared to SK. I am happy to note many Bumiputera parents are sending their children to Chinese schools. Personally, this is very important and all should know Mandarin. Besides knowing English – the language of knowledge – one should also know Mandarin as it’s a business language. Anyone who wants to do business with China, knowing Mandarin is a must.
In other words, Mandarin and English should be emphasised in Sarawak. The way I see it, if we move in that direction, I think it will help resolve the issue of unemployment besides strengthening intercultural and communication-related understanding. This is because Chinese schools are not only meant for Chinese but also accepted by the Bumiputera community.
Chinese schools are very academic-oriented – that’s why many of the pupils need to attend extra classes, especially tuition. This might be a drawback for the Bumiputera parents who might not have resources. Therefore, unless and until Bumiputera parents have the financial ability, their children might find it difficult to compete in these schools. But if there is a special arrangement for weaker pupils to attend extra classes borne by parent-teacher associations (PTAs), school boards, or the government, these children stand a better chance to compete in Chinese schools.
So, I hope the Chinese school boards will be more open in this issue and work together with the government or elected representatives in their respective areas to recruit more non-Chinese pupils to study in their schools. Rest assured I will work towards this and identify several Chinese schools in Sibu closer to the Malay or Iban community to encourage them to send their children these schools. I will work with the school boards on how to help these pupils compete with their peers.
Q: What do you think of the higher standards of science and maths in Chinese schools?
A: The Chinese community have a high awareness of the importance of science and maths and for that reason, they place great emphasis on these two subjects. They don’t think of science and maths as tough subjects. On the other hand, the Bumiputera community tend to think science and maths are difficult subjects. To me, this is just a perception. But unless we get rid of it, lifting the standards of science and maths in other schools might be difficult. Parents also play an important role in ensuring their children do well in these two subjects.
Q: What is your hope for Sarawak?
A: We want to provide proper infrastructure to all schools and are moving in the right direction and pace. With the help of the federal and state governments, the issue of dilapidated schools will be resolved. Of course, it can’t be done overnight due to the numbers involved but taking into account the capacity of the government agencies to rebuild these schools, the issue will be seriously addressed.
In terms of teaching quality, the Sarawak government will complement the federal government in reskilling, upskilling, and training teachers. The state government is now spending a lot of money on this. Only then, will Sarawak be able to excel in education.