RACIAL polarisation and a general decline in quality these are elements often associated with education in the country these days.

So where does one begin to rectify these weaknesses and improve the situation?

The primary school, according to former Education Director General Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Arshad, is the best place to start revolutionising the whole education system.

"Primary education is basic and vital, it is the start in a child's education and has to be right," he once said. Unfortunately, he had added, it was also the most problematic.

And therein lies the rub.

Furthermore, with the cultural diversity of the country and its complex race relations, how can we decide what is the "best" system of schooling for everyone?

Beginning this week, StarEducation is taking a look at the different types of primary schools in the country to ascertain why parents make the choices they do and see how best this issue can be resolved for the future generation.

National schools today

National schools were established after Independence to integrate all children of various races, with Bahasa Malaysia as the main medium of instruction and a common syllabus to promote national identity.

However, over the years, these schools have acquired an image of being predominantly Malay and Islamic in orientation, with students often taught by unmotivated teachers and having low academic standards. Needless to say, this has deterred many parents from sending their children to national schools, regardless of race.

It is estimated that just one out of 20 Chinese parents place their children in national schools. The demand for Chinese education is reported to be increasing steadily every year. In fact, Dong Zhong, the United Chinese School Committees Association, says there is a shortage of Chinese schools, especially in the Klang Valley.

And the demand is not just restricted to the Chinese according to the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP), more than 65,000 non Chinese students were registered at Chinese schools last year.

The Education Ministry reveals that only 4% of Indian parents are sending their children to national schools compared to 53% who send theirs to Tamil schools.

Other parents, Malays not excluded, are opting either for home schooling, private schools or religious schools. A few are even packing their kids off to boarding schools overseas or relocating the whole family for a purportedly better schooling system in countries like Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

As Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi highlighted in his keynote address on "Revitalising Education: Equipping Malaysia for the Realities of the 2Ist Century" at the Malaysian Education Summit 2004 in April, the Government recognises the need for a primary education system that not only promotes inter racial understanding but also provides quality education.

Identifying national schools as the ideal vehicle for these aims, he has pledged that the Government will strive towards revamping them into "the school of choice" for parents.

Better racial integration

However, with most primary national schools recording a 99% Malay student population and a predominantly Malay teaching body, they have inevitably become "Malay" schools. The ethnic imbalance is problematic, to say the least.

Former Malaysian Federation of Headmasters President Sanip Suradi is not surprised that more non Malay parents are sending their children to vernacular schools.

"People tend to politicise it. Some parents send their children to religious schools only because they think national schools do not teach enough Islamic subjects and Arabic for them to take up a career in this area later.

"Other parents, meanwhile, think national schools are too Islamic or Malay and don't give enough attention to other mother tongues and cultures. So Who is right?"

A teacher from a primary school in Kuala Lumpur who only wants to be known as
Zainab, however, feels that the demographics of most national schools are dependent on location.

"Our school, for example, is located in a Malay area, so the student population is 97% Malay. It would be helpful if it were more multi racial, so that students could practice English more.

“Other than that, it is not a problem, but I am not sure about later when they go into university and so on, “ she says.

Chinese educationist Dr Kua Kia Soong points out that it is the people’s right to have a mother tongue education. He believes the crux of the matter lies instead in the whole education system which affects all schools.

“Why put a division between national schools and national-type schools? The issue of quality affects all the schools.”

Keeping the faith, nevertheless, are parents Edwin and Doreen Chia, who send their two daughters to a national school. In their early forties, they went to national schools when they were growing up and found it culturally enriching.

"We believe in national schools; we ourselves are products of these schools. People say things have changed now but we believe that the national school system is the best way towards racial integration."

But, Edwin admits, almost all other members of his family send their children to Private and Chinese schools.

"The resurgence of Chinese schools is understandable. In the 1970s, after the May 13 incident, there was a fear of losing our culture among the Chinese, and that has continued to this day. Chinese education became a way to reclaim one's identity," he adds.

Although both his daughters 11 and eight years old are in the minority at school, he believes that this will be a good experience for them as it teaches them about another culture and how to mingle with those of other races.

"The environment is very Malay though, and I wonder how the other pupils can learn about other communities," he notes, adding that there have been many instances when the school was insensitive to other religious events.

"We had the Report Card Day on Easter Sunday this year, and I had to explain to my daughters' teachers why I could not come to school to see them."

Parent Mohd Aris Yassin feels that most national schools place too much emphasis on Islam.

"My son is now in secondary school but we were lucky that his primary school had a racially mixed student body.

"More multi cultural activities need to be organised to instil racial, cultural and religious sensitivity in children, but teachers are unwilling to organise any activity that they deem un Islamic such as concerts, camping trips, school bands and performances," he adds.

Teachers, he observes, need to be educated so that they become aware of multi-racial sensitivities and responsive to them.

Doreen concurs, saying that her 11 year old daughter has been reprimanded for wearing shorts during Physical Education class.

"I respect the Muslim culture, but they have to respect our culture too," she says.

Dr Kua, on the other hand, argues that a solution to racial polarisation is to organise more inter school activities.

" To foster racial integration, more opportunities for the different races to mix are
needed, such as joint programmes where national schools and vernacular schools
come together and interact for sports or co curricular activities," he says.

A matter of perspective

Another endemic problem is the eroding of confidence in the national schools' ability to provide fundamental skills and knowledge to the country's young.

Suzanne Yeoh, senior assistant in a national school on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, agrees that this is a common perception.

But, she argues, the problem does not lie just with the schools.

"It is difficult to teach properly when the curriculum and syllabus are constantly changed by the Education Ministry.

"And with the pressure of the UPSR, you worry about the pupils. Are they learning anything? But then this is a problem across the board and affects everyone."

Edwin, however, shares that he chose a national school for his daughters because these schools are not as exam oriented as Chinese schools.

"There is a generalisation that Chinese schools are better in Maths and Science but the truth is that they push the pupils hard.

I think while they are growing up, it is better for children to enjoy their classes and not learn by rote all the time."

Adds Zainab: "We have the same curriculum and the same syllabus. I think we all work equally hard too. The difference is that Chinese schools have extra classes, some even every day.

"There is even talk that some schools adapt the Singaporean syllabus which people believe to be of a higher standard for their lessons," she says.

After all is said and done, parent Ahmad Siraj puts in a timely reminder that the educational system is an integral whole, and the issues surrounding primary schools cannot be addressed in isolation:

"My son is now in Form One. He was offered a place in a residential school but I decided against it because the students and teachers there are predominantly Malay.

To me, it is futile to revamp national schools for the promotion of racial Integration if they are to be streamed into different secondary schools after that.

"Kids of different races become good friends but after Year Six, some of the good Malay students go away to join residential schools. When, they meet again in university, it is too late.