A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TOCHINESE SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIA

The SchoolAdvisors represents the parents in Malaysia who are concerned about education for their children.

These characters will give voice to concerns and questions that almost every parent in Malaysia has. Not every two schools are the same and everyone has differing views about each school. The choice of school should be a personal one based on each family’s needs, views and finances.

In this episode, the SchoolAdvisors tackle the pros and cons of sending children to study inChinese schools.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND

At the primary level, there are two types of Chinese school available in Malaysia: vernacular (SJKC) and private. However, the only option available for a Chinese medium secondary education is private.

Chinese independent schools are a by-product of the Education Act 1961 when the medium of instruction was changed to English and later to Bahasa Malaysia in the 70s, affecting more than 100 Chinese secondary schools.

Some independent schools shares the same history as its SMJK counterparts, as they used to be a part of a "big family", before splitting into government-based SMJK and privately-based independent school.

A total of 78 Chinese secondary schools changed their medium of instruction to become a vernacular secondary school known as Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan (SMJK), which entitled them to financial allocation from the Government. The others opted to continue withChinese education, remaining as independent schools without financial support from the Government.

There are currently 60 independently run Chinese secondary schools in Malaysia that are open to local and international students of any ethnicity. The cost of education is low (RM 400-600 a month) because Chinese schools are usually run on donations made by social and political groups, alumni and parents.

Jiao Zong (United Chinese School Teachers Association) while presenting the report on "Changes in the number of Chinese primary schools and pupils from 2000 to 2014" on 10 January 2014 said there has been an alarming decline in the enrollment of students to national-type Chinese schools.

The report highlighted that in the year 2008, approximately 98,171 pupils were enrolled in Chinese schools but by the time the students reach Year 6, there were only 93,020 of them left, indicating a drain of 5,151 pupils in five years or 1,030 a year.

The same report also mentioned that there is however an increase in the enrollment of non-Chinese students. The state of Kelantan is proof of this new wave; more than 50 percent of the student population in Chinese Schools is non-Chinese. Many schools are now reporting alarger number non-Chinese applications for enrollment and some schools just can't cope with the demand.

An overview of the main types of schools in Malaysia:

National School Independent Chinese School International School

National syllabus National syllabus+ Chinese curriculum(from China and or Singapore)

Foreign syllabus

Assessment:

UPSR, PT3, SPM, STPM

Assessment:

UPSR, PT3, SPM+ UEC

IGCSE, IB, CBSE, O levels, A levels

Free for Malaysian citizensRM120/year for children of foreign citizens studying in Malaysia

RM 300 to RM 500 per month RM 12,000 to more than RM50,000 a year

Related readings:

http://schooladvisor.my/features/a-look-at-chinese-schools-in-malaysia

http://schooladvisor.my/features/choosing-a-chinese-secondary-school-vernacular-or-independent

Malaysian parents no doubt believe in the importance of education, and being multilingualis crucial in a world that is rapidly heading towards globalisation.

Mandarin being spoken by more than 1 billion people is now on par with English as the most used language in the world. It is also an official language of the United Nations.

Learning Mandarin opens doors to a huge job market in all of the countries where Mandarin is the language of commerce like Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore and even Malaysia! Abundant opportunities for government and business careers as well as scientific and cultural exchanges awaits students who take Mandarin classes.

About 25 million people all over the world are learning Chinese, statistics show. France, a country which is proud of its own language, has 27 universities which opened Chinese courses in 1998, compared with only 11 universities in 1991. In addition, Chinese courses have also been opened in many of France's primary and middle schools.

Malaysia can definitely boast in that aspect as we have had a strong foundation of Chinese schools even before gaining independence.

Malaysia is a unique country with equally unique individuals. It is not surprising to see a Malay nurse speaking Tamil in hospitals, a Chinese engineer talking in Malay with a Kelantanese accent and an Indian school teacher communicating in Mandarin.

Fluency in any language depends on many factors including upbringing, education opportunities and practice. Mandarin is different compared to English as it is a tonal language, which means pronunciation of certain syllables may change the meaning of a sentence altogether!

A person is considered fluent in Mandarin if they are able to read and speak 3000 differentChinese words as it means that the person can thrive in an all-Mandarin speaking environment. Writing may be a bit more difficult.

Having parents that are fluent in Mandarin will definitely help children grasp the language easier. However this does not mean that parents who grew up in a non-Mandarinspeaking environment, went to Malay or English medium schools, or had never given much thought about the language before are prone to bad parenting. Far from it!

Some students were surprised that they become very adept at being multilingual due to having to translate their homeworks from Chinese schools to English and Malay when asking for help from their non-Mandarin speaking parents.

Parent quotes:

“I may be a banana but does that make me less of a Chinese? I am Malaysian first but if my children want to study Mandarin, I think that's a great thing.”

“Growing up in America, it is refreshing that we have a choice here in Malaysia to study the Chinese language and culture.”

“Eventhough we speak Mandarin at home, I have never had a formal education before and it would be nice if they can also read and write in Mandarin.”

“It's frustating to us both when she asks me to help with her homework, because we both don't understand anything!”

“I don't understand why I need to send my children to Chinese schools when we already speak the language everyday. Even the kids in China are focusing on learning English.”

Parents who want their children to be fluent in Mandarin are divided into two main camps:sending their child to Chinese schools or to enrichment Mandarin programmes.

A lot of parents who are determined earlier on to send their children to Mandarin medium schools usually prepare since toddler age by sending their loved ones to preschools that teach the language. Some Chinese schools have kindergartens as well, where kids will automatically be promoted to the school when the time comes for primary years registration.

Some stay at home moms and dads who are fluent in Mandarin choose to provide tutoring for their own children, either as a supplement to the Chinese school curriculum or as an extra homeschooling option.

Other parents who can't spare the time or are not native Mandarin speakers themselves opt for enrichment classes conducted in Mandarin such as Speech and Drama, Music and Dance and of course Mandarin Literacy programmes offered in private institutions after school hours.

No matter the background, parents have different opinions about Chinese schools:

“My child hates Chinese school, because we don't speak Mandarin and she cannot catch up.”

“We think Mandarin is a beatiful language but it's complicated and boring to study through rote learning at school.”

“As a native speaker, I don't want to waste money when I can teach my kids Mandarin myself.”

“Chinese schools are good for children because the environment will force them to be fluentin Mandarin quicker.”

“Chinese schools are not the only answer to Chinese learning.”

Tips for teaching at home:

• Be organized, patient and flexibleLearn the difference between schedule and a routine. Make up a list, and get them in the habit of doing what they can on their own before they come to you. This may take some time to develop, but just as with other worthy habits.

• Have a method for evaluationIf you have clear goals at the outset, and communicate them to your child, you'll both be working under the same expectations.

• Make friends with other parentsThe Internet or local community groups are a good way to find other parents and kids for discussing your particular schooling approaches. Join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schooladvisor/

• Read aloud together every dayThere is research galore about why reading aloud to your kids is good for them.

Suitable enrichment programmes:

• Literacy classesThis is a straight-forward option for parents who wish for their children to improve in Mandarin, or any language for that matter.

• MusicStudies have shown that learning through singing or with the help of music may help accelerate one's grasp of the language. There are many options for either classical or modern programmes.

• Speech and DramaChildren love to play pretend, so why not hone their artistic skills while letting them practice using the language?

• Cultural ClubsLearn the Chinese language through immersion and gain a better sense of cultural andglobal awareness while having fun.

As we have mentioned in the first strip: not every two schools are the same and everyone has differing views about each school.

The internet is both bane and boon for the tech-savvy parents in search of information for the education of their loved ones. Other than the reliable and helpful friends at Schooladvisor.my there are also the news, informal forums for parents and of course peerand parent reviews.

We have compiled the most discussed issues parents have when it comes to considering a Chinese school education for their children. Which are true and which are not?

The teachers are fierce and they bring canes around the school ready to smack the children

Students will not be able to speak languages other than Mandarin There will be too many homework and not enough play Chinese schools encourage rote-learning and not critical thinking Parents will be burdened by constant requests for donations Chinese schools have a reputation of producing math geniuses Parents who are not fluent in Mandarin will feel left out and loss Chinese school students have lousy command in English

Social skills are severely lacking in chinese school students The teachers discourage students from gym, and swap the schedule for lessons

instead There is limited tertiery option when you graduate from Chinese schools Children in chinese schools are highly stressed and strung out Chinese schools result in producing materialistic children There is too much focus on the academic and nothing else Students from Chinese schools are more focused and independent You only matter if you produce results, not because you are a unique human being

Caning

There is a common belief that rule enforcement in a Chinese school is more strict and at higher levels of discipline. Some parents conjure images of scowling teachers walking around with cane in hand, ready to strike at students who fail to recite their multiplication tables.

While some parents may reflect on this style as 'military', many other parents are reportedly okay with this type of strict discipline.

"At home I also make sure I explain to my children why I am caning them and what they havedone wrong.”

"As long as the caning is done properly, not in anger and without causing harm to the children, it is all right because it's a good way of instilling discipline."

"I'm fine with it as long as the child is caned with good reason, and the punishment isn't excessive."

Parents who are against corporal punishment have their own opinion about this issue:

“I find that teachers are more prone to caning boys rather than girls.”

“My son was being caned because he kept scoring Cs for Mathematics. I found this to be unnecessarily harsh, and it didn't help to improve his grades.”

“There are studies where there are long-term harms connected to corporal punishment!”

“It's heartbreaking when my 7 year old comes home and laments that he can't be a good boyat school (which means he can’t live up to his teacher’s expectation!)”

However, many parents are now reporting that Chinese schools are abandoning the cane for a more heart-to-heart style of discipline (counselling etc).

“If my daughter had good reason for not handing in work, the teacher understands and givesher extra time to finish it.”

“The teachers carry the cane only for show, it's tradition.”

“There are many kinds of teachers, some kind and playful while some just look scary but areactually cheerful and funny.”

School Hours

In Chinese schools, academic hours are usually from 7.25am until 1.25pm and a majority of schools offer optional after school tuition up to 3.30pm or even night classes.

A comparison of sample timetables between different types of primary schools:

Chinese School National School Private School

Subject Duration Subject Duration Subject Duration

Mandarin 5 hours Mandarin (elective)

1.5 hours Visual Art 1 hour

B. Malaysia 4.5 hours B. Malaysia 6 hours B. Malaysia 6 hours

English 1 hour English 5 hours Speech and Drama

1 hour

Math in English

2 hours Math 3 hours Science 1 hour

Math in Mandarin

3 hours Science and Technology

1 hour Science in English

1 hour

Science in English

1.5 hours Moral or Religious Studies

3 hours Science in Mandarin

3.5 hours

Science in 1.5 hours IT 1 hour Moral or 2 hours

Mandarin Religious Studies

Moral or Religious Studies

2 hours Gym ½ hour Math 3 hours

IT 1 hour Music ½ hour IT 1 hour

Gym 1 hour Art 1 hour SPA2 1 hour

Music 1 hour NILAM1 1.5 hours CCA3 2 hours

Art 1 hour

1 Nadi Ilmu Amalan Membaca (Campaign to Encourage Reading as a Habit)2 Structured Performance Art (lesssons on violin, piano, etc)3 Curriculum Activities (Divided into Clubs & Societes and Sports & Games)

As you can see, there is not a lot of difference between school hours for Chinese, government and private schools.

Independent Chinese Schools offer a combination of the curricula used in China and Taiwan along with the Malaysian national curriculum. A lot of Chinese schools also import curriculum from other countries such as Singapore. While Mandarin is the main medium of instruction, Bahasa Malaysia and English are used extensively in the schools.

The United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (UCSCAM, the association ofChinese school teachers and trustees (马来西亚华校董事联合会总会) also known as Dong Jiao Zong (董教总) coordinates the curriculum used in the schools and organizes the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) standardized test. Despite this, the schools are independent of each other and are free to manage their own affairs.

Since these independent schools are not directly administrated by the MoE, the rules and regulations are different from government schools. USCCAM is the boss here. They do have their own unified exam system (an exam which all the independent schools took part), just like SPM and STPM. Also, a very distinctive feature of an independent school student is their uniform, which for boys are full white top and bottom instead of dark green trousers for boysin gov school.

Students usually spend 6 years in a Chinese Independent High School. The 6 years are divided into two stages: three years in junior middle and three years in senior middle,

similar to the secondary school systems in mainland China and Taiwan.

In independent school, the class rank differs from the Form system used in gov schools. Here, Form 1 to Form 3 students are called as "Lower 1 - Lower 3", while Form 4 to Form 6 are called "Higher 1 - Higher 3". Like other schools, students are able to decide whether they'll stop their study in Higher 2, which equivalent to Form 5 in gov school, or to continue another year at Higher 3 level, which is almost the same as Form 6.

Students are streamed into tracks like Science or Art/Commerce in the senior middle stage. At the end of each stage, students sit for the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC). A few schools offer an additional year in senior middle, catering to students taking the government's Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM, equivalent to A-level).

Chinese Independent High Schools use the same academic year as government schools. An academic year consists of two semesters: Semester 1 from January to May and Semester 2 from June to November, with examinations at the end of each semester. The overall academic performance of a student in an academic year determines his/her promotion to the next study year in the next academic year. Failing requires repeating the study year. In contrast, students in government schools are automatically promoted regardless of academic performance.

The minimum requirement for a student to gain entry into secondary school is UPSR, an examination students sit during their last year in primary school at standard 6. Normally students are enrolled in the school at the age of 13 and is based on the UPSR result.

Students who pass UPSR will be placed in Form 1 (Tingkatan 1) class, while those who failedtheir Bahasa Melayu subject in UPSR will be placed in a probation (peralihan or remove) class, where they will be taught the basics of the secondary education national syllabus, before allowing them to move to Form 1 the following year.

UEC or Unified Examination Certificate is historically British based. In Malaysia, the UEC is an internal exam strictly for independent Chinese schools and not open for public, unlike IGCSE. So students have to undergo a Chinese school education if they wish to take UEC.

The registration fee for UEC is very affordable especially compared to other internationally recognized papers at approximately RM 300+ for the whole exam.

The UEC is available in three levels: Junior Middle (UEC-JML), Vocational (UEC-V), and Senior Middle (UEC-SML). Examinations for the UEC-JML and UEC-V are only available in the Chinese language.

The UEC-SML is recognized as a qualification for entrance into many tertiary educational institutions around the world, including the United Kingdom, the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Australia, Canada and many others.

The Malaysian government currently does not recognise the UEC for entrance into local universities. However, The United Chinese Schools Teachers' Association (Jiao Zong) and United Chinese School Committees' Association (Dong Zong) also collectively known as Dong Jiao Zong continues to seek negotiations in recognizing the UEC with the Ministry of Education.

UEC graduates are still eligible for PTPTN loans and local teacher training colleges as long as they receive a pass in BM and achieve distinction in three other subjects.

Some Chinese Independent High Schools opt to teach the national secondary school curriculum in Malay alongside the independent curriculum (in Chinese) and require students to sit for the government standardized tests (PMR, SPM or even STPM) providing the students an opportunity to obtain government-recognized certificates.

However, this may result in teachers rushing through the subjects or holding night classes to accommodate the students.

• Make friends with your child’s classmates’ parentsBanish registration day blues by asking your way around from the more fluent parents.

• Hire a tutor or enroll your child in enrichment programmesOr simply learn together with your children, especially if you start them at a very young age.

• Create a conducive environment at homeGet a few Mandarin books, Mandarin DVDs and swtich your television to Astro Channel 325 (Chinese educational channel for kids).

• Google Translate everything!The search engine powerhouse now has an in-built live translator which translates Mandarin to any language imaginable with a click of your smartphone camera button.

• Utilize mobile apps or online softwareIn this day and age, knowledge is at the tip of your finger. We provide some of the digital goodies available for download or online use.

◦ Dictionary▪ Pleco http://pleco.com▪ Nciku http://nciku.com▪ Train Chinese http://trainchinese.com/v1/a_user/index.php▪ KTDict https://ktdict.com

◦ Handwriting▪ NJStar http://njstar.com/cms/njstar-chinese-pen ▪ Hello Chinese http://appcrawlr.com/android/hello-chinese▪ My Chinese Copybook https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-chinese-

copybook-elementary/id828850881?mt=8

◦ Pronunciation▪ DigMandarin http://digmandarin.com/top-four-tools-to-help-you-learn-

chinese-pronunciation-and-pinyin.html▪ ChinesePod https://chinesepod.com/tools/pronunciation▪ Codegent http://www.codegent.com/apps/mobile/learn/chinese/learn-

chinese-phrasebook-for-travel-in-china/▪ Mandarin Madness http://mandarinmadness.com/▪ PencilBot http://www.pencilbot.com/welcome/PencilBot.html

Choose your school here:http://schooladvisor.my/chinese-schools

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