NON-CHINESE STUDENTS OPTING FOR CHINESE AS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS (Update on policy)

Dr Kanwaljit Soin asked the Minister for Education if he will provide an update on the policy of non-Chinese students opting for Mandarin as a second language in primary schools.

The Minister of State for Education (Dr Ker Sin Tze) (for the Minister for Education): Mr Speaker, Sir, generally, the Ministry's policy on the mother tongue language is that pupils offer the mother tongue language of their parents. Non-Tamil Indian pupils are allowed to offer Chinese, Malay, Tamil or one of the minority Indian languages such as Bengali, Gujerati, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. In the case of inter-marriages between local communities, the child can offer the mother tongue of either parents, ie, Chinese, Malay, Tamil or one of the five minority Indian languages.

Dr Kanwaljit Soin (Nominated Member): Sir, would the Minister agree that the learning of Mandarin could be of economic advantage to a non-Chinese? So would the Ministry of Education allow non-Chinese pupils to take up Mandarin as a second language if the parents so wish?

Dr Ker Sin Tze: We do recognise the benefit of learning Chinese by non-Chinese pupils. But at the same time, we would like all pupils to know their mother tongue because that is the cornerstone of our bilingual policy. We do make exceptions when the parents insist or there are some other good reasons. In fact, in 1993, we have six Malay students and 58 Indian students who are taking Chinese.

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: Sir, would the Minister agree that cultural identification is not a simple function of learning your mother tongue? Considering that, would the Minister allow more latitude in non-Chinese pupils to take up Mandarin as a second language?

Dr Ker Sin Tze: We will certainly allow greater flexibility if there is good reason to do so.

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: Would the Minister then outline what the good reasons are and what are the criteria when Mandarin can be taken as a second language by non-Chinese pupils?

Dr Ker Sin Tze: There are a variety of reasons. One is what the Member has suggested earlier that if the pupil or his parents feel that learning Chinese would be very helpful to him in his future studies or career, we will consider his request.

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: Sir, with the push to go regional to China, I think there have been many forums outlining the economic advantages of learning Mandarin. In view of that, could the Minister then take that as a reason for studying Mandarin for non-Chinese pupils?

Dr Ker Sin Tze: We do consider some of the benefits but, at the same time, we should emphasise on our bilingual policy, ie, pupils should know their mother tongue to retain their own cultures.

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: Sir, the pupils could be learning their mother tongue at home. What I am still not quite clear is under what circumstances would the Minister allow non-Chinese pupils to take up Mandarin?

Dr Ker Sin Tze: One of the reasons is mixed parentage. Pupils of a mixed parentage can also request to study Chinese. Even for the Indian minorities who are not Tamils, they can opt for one of the five minority languages or Chinese, Malay or Tamil. Pupils in that category can ask to study Chinese.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, does the Minister agree that other mother tongues like Malay and Tamil also have economic value in view of the fact that the majority of our neighbours are speaking Malay and we may have business with India also?

Dr Ker Sin Tze: Yes, we apply the same reason and the same consideration.

Mr Chia Shi Teck: Sir, when the Minister is considering the review, will the Minister consider the sensitivities of the minority races, lest it be mistaken to be a push for minorities to take up the Chinese language?

Dr Ker Sin Tze: We do consider all factors which affect the choice of language but the main thing is that if there is a mother tongue available for the students to choose, then they are required to take their mother tongue. If there are some other reasons that warrant consideration, we will consider them.

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: Would the Minister consider the sensitivities of the minorities if they are prevented from taking Mandarin? Does the Minister realise that in the private sector knowing Mandarin is a great advantage and it makes the difference between getting a job and not getting a job?

Dr Ker Sin Tze: I thought the sensitivity is the other way round. If we allow too many students to take Chinese, it could create some sensitivity problem.

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: If the parents request for it, and it is the parents' choice, I do not see how the sensitivity question can arise unless the Ministry forces it. What I am asking is for those parents who would like their children to take up Mandarin. I would like to know why the Ministry is very reluctant to do so.

Dr Ker Sin Tze: We would urge the parents to consider again the usefulness of their mother tongue. Upon presentation of very good evidence that they do need to learn Chinese in their future study or career development, the Ministry does make exceptions. That is why we have 64 non-Chinese students taking Chinese.

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: What percentage of the total number of students does that constitute?

Dr Ker Sin Tze: The percentage is 64 divided by a total number of 32,000 students. Anyone with a calculator can calculate it. (The percentage is 0.2%).

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: Is not that figure too small even to merit mention because obviously the policy is not flexible enough to allow more parents to exert their choice if they wish to?

Dr Ker Sin Tze: This may not be true. I do not have with me here the number of parents who have requested for their children to study Chinese. But I will certainly ask the Ministry officials to give the Member the number. It will show that the number of parents who have requested for their children to study Chinese is not too large.

Dr Kanwaljit Soin: What discourages parents is that they have heard stories from other pupils who are refused. So could I request the Minister of State to make the criteria better known and to relax the criteria so that the parents know that they can apply if they so wish?

Dr Ker Sin Tze: I will ask the Ministry officials to clarify the points when parents raise the question.