STUDY OF CHINESE IN ENGLISH SCHOOLS

Mr Goh Tong Liang asked the Minister for Education since when has Chinese been taught as a second language in English schools; whether he is satisfied with the progress made, and what steps he has taken or proposes to take to make the pupils interested in its study.

Mr Chew Swee Kee: Mr Speaker, Sir, Chinese has been taught as a second language in some English schools as far back as 1951 and earlier. At the beginning of 1957, however, vernacular languages became a compulsory part of the curricula in English schools, although it was not always possible then to get enough vernacular teachers. However, Chinese is not affected in this respect and the Ministry has an adequate number of Chinese teachers in English schools.

In the Primary schools good progress is being made, though naturally some pupils are not very diligent.

Many of the Chinese teachers in English schools have been trained and others are undergoing training. This is tending to make the pupils more interested in the study of Chinese. Furthermore, vernacular language marks count towards a pupil's position in class and this gives an incentive to study.

In the Secondary schools in Forms II and III good progress is being made. In Forms IV and V a fair number of pupils are making good progress but some have no grounding in Chinese and found the subject very difficult when it was made compulsory. In some of these cases pupils in this category were therefore allowed to drop the study of Chinese.