PROPOSAL FOR INTEGRATED TAMIL SCHOOLS

Mr S. Rajoo (Farrer Park): Mr Speaker, Sir, I wish to raise this matter in this House for integrated Tamil schools for the improvement and safe-guard of the Tamil language in the Republic of Singapore.

The Government's present educational policy of equal treatment for the four language streams of education in Malay, Chinese, English and Tamil is most praiseworthy. It is in the best interest of moulding our multi-racial and multi-lingual society into a common group of patriotic citizens. This system will give an opportunity to the various races to preserve and safeguard their own cultural heritage handed through generations by learning their mother tongue, and help develop a common ground of understanding between one another through the common and national language.

The Tamil language has a long history of the past and is considered to be one of the oldest languages in the world. It has an unbroken length of history of 5,000 years old. The Tamil community, although a minority group in this country, are very grateful for the Government's initiative and encouragement by making Tamil as one of the official languages.

Sir, there are 14 Tamil primary schools and one secondary school in Singapore. Out of 14, two primary schools are run by Government and the other 12 are aided schools. However, there is a tendency among the public and the community that the present curriculum in Tamil schools falls short of the required need. The same could be said about Tamil as a second language in English schools. It is felt that improvements could be achieved by increasing the number of teaching hours and periods to include language, literature and grammar classes which are the fundamentals for a better and improved study of language.

Sir, English as a second language in Tamil schools is a vital necessity at the present moment. Perhaps a few politicians may say that English is the leftover of the past colonial masters. But ungrudgingly, it has become the language of living in this part of the world at the present day.

If I am quoting correctly, the standard of English in the only Tamil secondary school is not up to the required need, so much so that a student who passed a Tamil secondary education from the Umar Pulawar Secondary School is only fit to be a Tamil teacher in any of the Tamil schools. Thus, the scope of their employment in other fields is remote.

The remedy could be by improving English education in the Tamil schools in general and raising the standard of English in the Tamil secondary school to Secondary IV or Cambridge Certificate level.

Sir, since the main theme of our Government's educational policy is to infuse national unity and understanding among the various races of this tiny Republic, the bold step taken by the Government in introducing the integrated schools system is very much appreciated. By this system it is understood that pupils of two different language streams mix together and share the same school building, the same playground and the same language teachers. In this system there is more inducement for pupils to speak each other's language.

It is, therefore, felt that an integrated English/Tamil school will help improve the standard of the English language and the knowledge of the children considerably.

We understand that there are 42 integrated schools in Singapore, of which 28 are primary schools, eight are academic secondary schools, three are technical secondary and the other three are vocational secondary schools. These integrated schools are understood to be either English and Chinese streams or English and Malay streams - none in the English and Tamil streams.

For this reason it is suggested that the Government should look into the possibility of establishing integrated English/Tamil schools in areas where Tamils are residing in significant numbers such as Farrer Park, Pasir Panjang, Anson and Sembawang, or at such strategic places where it will serve the general need of the community.

Mr Speaker, Sir, it is suggested that the Government should make an attempt to integrate at least the two primary Tamil schools run by the Government, namely, Aravinder Tamil School and St. George's Road Tamil School with the neighbouring English schools. In the case of St. George's Road school, as the Kallang Basin and Toa Payoh is becoming a fast developing area, a new integrated school may be built in this area for this purpose.

It is noted that in the integrated schools the teachers could be interchangeable. Therefore, the teachers are expected to be well equipped with the languages they teach. It is understood that in-service courses are arranged for teachers who wish to specialise in certain subjects. It is also understood that there are specialist teachers who have undergone training in the United Kingdom for teaching English as a second language. Such in-service courses or specialist training courses are not available to Tamil language teachers in both English and Tamil schools. For this reason, it is suggested that selected Tamil language teachers from both the English and Tamil streams of education may be sent to Indian universities for specialised training. Eventually they may be employed as lecturers for in-service courses for the Tamil language in the T.T.C.

Sir, as the learning of a second language has been made compulsory since 1966, many Tamil parents in Mission schools have complained that they would like their children to study Tamil as a second language. But such facilities are not being provided in the Mission schools. In the spirit language classes where some students attend Chinese and Malay language classes, Tamil-speaking children either waste their period or go without any language lessons at all. It is suggested that where there is an adequate number of children and a Tamil language teacher could be employed economically, the Education Minister should look into such issues and could direct the Mission schools to follow the Government system of education.

In the policy of implementing integrated Tamil schools, the status and future of the existing Tamil schools should not be affected. Any possible integration of these schools should be in consultation with the School Management Committees beforehand. On the other hand, Government help should be forthcoming to improve the teaching of English in these schools in order that a student in a Tamil secondary school may be placed in an equal position and opportunity with his counterparts in the other language streams, such as Chinese, Malay and English.

Finally, I wish to say that the implementation of integrated English/Tamil schools will be in line with the Government's oft-declared policy of giving equality to all streams of education, such as English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil, and will be a hallmark of authority and safety for the Tamil language in the Republic of Singapore.

Mr Speaker: No other Member wishes to speak? I will call on the Minister to reply.

The Minister of State for Education (Inche A. Rahim Ishak): Mr Speaker. Sir, I refer to the statement just made by the Member for Farrer Park on the curriculum of our Tamil schools. I must point out that the curriculum in all our schools has been standardised since 1959. Tamil schools are following the same curriculum as that for the Malay, Chinese and English schools. It was only during the last two years that English language instruction in Government-aided Tamil primary schools has been put on a firm basis, when even classes as small as 15 in enrolment were eligible for second language teachers.

It must be remembered that the second language was made compulsory at Secondary I level only with effect from January 1966. In order to make this effective, it was decided that every pupil should offer a second language in the primary school leaving examination with effect from 1966. Since last year, therefore, all the Tamil schools have been provided with English language teachers, and the standard of English in Tamil schools has already shown considerable improvement.

Further, an intensive training programme for second language teachers commenced at the Teachers' Training College in 1965. And this step is aimed at imparting a more effective second language instruction in English in all non-English schools. One of the ways to raise the standard of English in Tamil schools would be to teach certain subjects such as Mathematics and Science in English. By constantly following lessons in English, pupils will, over a period, having listened to, taken part in discussions, reading and talking in the English language, become familiar with the English language. The pupils in Government-aided English secondary schools are already attending Tamil classes organised by the Ministry of Education, together with students from Government English secondary schools at various centres in Singapore. The teaching of Tamil in primary schools is undertaken during school hours in the schools which have asked for language instruction in Tamil. So far, only one request has been received from a Government-aided English school and it has been provided with full-time Tamil language teachers. If the Ministry, in the course of time, receives requests from other Government-aided schools for second language instruction in Tamil, teachers will certainly be provided. Though we do not have integrated Tamil schools as such, there are two Tamil schools, the Aravinder and Pasir Panjang Tamil School which are functioning in Silat Integrated Primary School and Labrador Primary School respectively. The pupils of these two Tamil schools mix freely with pupils from the other language streams in the same building, although they retain their identity by having a separate name for their school and are headed by their own Principal. In respect of mixing together outside of classrooms, in the canteens, on the playing field and in the other extra-curricula activities, although they retain their own names, integration between the schools I have mentioned is, in effect, very much like integration among other streams in other parts of Singapore.

The Ministry of Education has been contemplating integrated Tamil schools in the area where many Tamils live, and I certainly welcome the support of the Member for Farrer Park in what he has suggested. The integration of St. George's Tamil School will be considered when the redevelopment of the Kallang Basin takes place.

In order to raise the standard of teaching in Tamil schools, plans are being drawn up for the following in-service courses for Tamil teachers: teaching of Mathematics in primary schools; teaching of Arts and Crafts in primary schools; teaching of Science in primary schools; teaching of Tamil in Tamil schools, and, lastly, teaching of Tamil in English schools. The syllabuses are now being worked out and it is expected to make a start at the Teachers' Training College in the following term. The question of offering scholarships to the best students from both the English and Tamil streams of education to study Tamil in Indian Universities will be given due consideration.

I hope the hon. Member for Farrer Park will now agree with me that my Ministry has been doing all it can to improve the standard of English in Tamil schools and the standard of Tamil in English schools and the standard of Tamil in any other schools where there are pupils who wish to study the Tamil language. Our aim is to make every pupil proficient in at least two languages in our multi-racial society. We have not ignored the Tamil schools or the Tamil students in English schools or elsewhere in attempting to achieve this objective, and I can assure the Member for Farrer Park that we shall not ignore them in the future.

Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved,

That Parliament do now adjourn.

Adjourned accordingly at Twenty-eight Minutes to Seven o'clock p.m. to a date to be fixed.