Importance of Tamil Schools in Malaysia | தயவுசெய்து உங்கள் குழந்தைகளை தமிழ் பள்ளிக்கு அனுப்புங்கள்

மலேசியாவில் தமிழ் பள்ளிகள் தேவையா இல்லையா? தயவுசெய்து உங்கள் குழந்தைகளை தமிழ் பள்ளிக்கு அனுப்புங்கள், இல்லையென்றால் தமிழ்ப்பள்ளிகள் இனி கிடையாது

Tamil schools have important role to play

Many years ago, in 1835, Lord Macaulay, the Victorian essayist, poet and historian, who was then presiding the Committee on Public Instruction in Bengal, recommended for India a thoroughly English education system that '... create[s] a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour but English in taste, in morals and in intellect'.

Such was the thinking behind the famed English education. While at the outset, the system did produce servile coloured officers to administer the vast British Empire, it also paved the way for the Empire's ultimate undoing.
However, for better or worse, the idea that the Occidentals their culture, their system, their intellect, their aesthetics are somehow superior to the Orientals has never really been extirpated from our psyche. Despite the passage of half a century, we still live in a landscape mottled by shadows of colonialism.

Which brings me to the letter Time to phase out Tamil schools . The letter writer, one Ushiv, evidently an apologist for the English schooling system, contends that Tamil schools should be closed down, presumably because they are a dead end for our young.

The arguments he put forward aren't new: 1) That the school facilities are dilapidated; 2) Poor prospects at the job market; 3) That good knowledge of Tamil is unnecessary for 'success'; 4) does not promote ethic integration; and, ultimately, 5) Even those who espouse Tamil education politicians, Tamil newspapermen, Tamil school educators - do not send their children to Tamil schools.
These arguments aren't necessarily untrue, or wrong. However, in deciding on a large issue like phasing out Tamil schools - the question's lack of constitutionality notwithstanding more understanding and nuance is necessary. One must also appreciate what role these schools play, and the relative merits of any alternative.

Studies tell us that we learn better in our mother language. As a Unesco report put it: 'Years of research have shown that children who begin their education in their mother-tongue make a better start, and continue to perform better, than those for whom school starts with a new language.'
For the Tamil school students, their mother-tongue is Tamil. Hence, it is logical why their early education should be in Tamil as well. Once a solid foundation has been laid, there could be a shift in the medium of instruction.

The schools provide the students a strong sense of self and pride in the one's cultural and spiritual heritage. For a multicultural nation like ours, these are valuable assets. When Malaysians as one people under one banner unite, each of us would still retain a degree of uniqueness that helps us to unleash our collective creative genius.

For far too long, we have derided our diversity. Only lately have we begun to give a halting recognition to it. More should be done. Cultural diversity should be embraced and celebrated. The Tamil school system, in that respect, is an integral part of that Malaysian idea.

Finally, there is a growing realisation among Tamils in particular, and Indian Malaysians generally, that Tamil schools should be safeguarded - that their success is coterminous with the community's success and future.
In a way, this realisation came about because of the many Tamil school alums who have done well in their life. Also, partly, the recognition that all the talk about closing down Tamil schools is but the talk of idlers. People have been talking about it since Barnes released his report 50 years ago.
In the meantime, Tamil schools (all 524 of them) continue to run, and almost hundred thousand students continue to receive their early education there.

Hence, it would be far more productive if we, instead, discussed how we could improve the schools further; improve the students' reading and writing ability; help the Parent-Teachers Associations function better; help parents become more effective partners in their child's education and come together to raise the funds for extra buildings, material and after-school programmes. The time for action is ripe.
Source: https://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/...

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