NATIONAL LANGUAGE IN GOVERNMENT AND AIDED SCHOOLS

Inche Mohd. Ali Bin Alwi asked the Minister for Education whether and when, the Government proposes to make the National Language a compulsory subject in all Government and Aided schools.

Mr Yong Nyuk Lin: Before the Government can make the National Language a compulsory subject in schools, it is the Government's duty to ensure that it can provide the necessary staff for teaching the National Language.

The Member for Kampong Kembangan .must be well aware of the acute shortage of Malay teachers both in Malay schools and in non-Malay schools, and also the comparatively small number of English and Chinese medium teachers who are sufficiently proficient in the Malay language to be able to teach it.

May I now give him the figures? For an enrolment of 19,000 Malay children in Malay schools, we have only 303 trained teachers, the balance of 297 teachers being only trainee teachers.

For the teaching of Malay in English and Chinese medium schools, the position was pathetic when this Government took office. Statistics show that there were only 34 Malay teachers. As the present total school population, excluding those in the Malay schools, is about 320,000, it is not practical to talk of making the National Language a compulsory subject in our font-Malay schools at the present time. But the new Government wasted no time in getting on with the task of providing the teachers. Language classes were started in the Teachers' Training College, and the Ministry devised examinations to ensure that accepted standards were established. To date, two examinations have been held, and a total of 2,718 teachers, of whom 2,304 are from the English medium, 409 from the Chinese medium, and 5 from the Tamil medium, have sat for the Std. I examination, while 41 teachers, of whom 31 are from the English medium and 10 from the Chinese medium, have sat for their Std. II examination, and 2 teachers have sat the highest examination, which is Std. III. In the next examination in March 1961, it is expected that 306 teachers, of whom 201 will be from the English medium, 101 from the Chinese medium and 4 from the Tamil medium, will sit for the Std. I examination, while 1,113 teachers, of whom 845 will be from the English medium, 264 from the Chinese medium and 4 from the Tamil medium, will sit for the Std. II examination.

The professional advice which I have received on the teaching of the Malay language is that for teaching in primary schools, a teacher should have obtained at least a Pass in the Std. II examination, and to teach in secondary schools it is desirable that teachers should have passed the Std. III examination. I am also advised that to provide adequate instruction for all pupils in schools, it would be necessary to have on the staff of each school at least one teacher in every three who is proficient in Malay. This, in terms of our present staffing figure, means at least 4,000 teachers proficient in Malay, but if account is taken, as it must be taken, of staffing requirements in other respects, then the figure of teachers of Malay is likely to be nearer the 6,000 mark.

Only when there are enough teachers and facilities to teach the National Language in all schools will the teaching be made compulsory in all schools.