By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Nov 5: The Kuching Chung Hua Primary School No. 1 Alumni Association has called on the Ministry of Education (MOE) to respect the distinctive characteristics of Chinese primary schools and safeguard mother tongue education amid concerns over proposed changes to the national primary school curriculum framework scheduled for implementation in 2027.
Its secretary Amy Tnay said the Association was seriously concerned about proposed adjustments to the curriculum structure and instructional periods in Chinese primary schools, particularly their potential impact on students’ language learning and the preservation of mother tongue education.
While acknowledging the importance of educational reform to keep pace with changing times, she stressed that changes must be based on genuine needs, supported by research and aimed at producing measurable improvements.
“Reform should bring improvement, not change for the sake of change,” she said in a statement.
Tnay urged MOE to publicly explain the shortcomings in the existing Chinese primary school education system that warrant such substantial adjustments, including whether there were concerns over students’ learning outcomes, curriculum demands, teacher shortages or inadequate teaching resources.
She said if weaknesses existed, reforms should address their root causes, such as strengthening the teaching workforce, improving resource allocation, updating curricula and incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and digital education.
However, reducing mother tongue instructional time should not be regarded as a solution to problems that could be addressed through more targeted measures.
She also highlighted the growing role of Chinese primary schools in Sarawak’s multicultural society, noting that they were no longer attended exclusively by children from Chinese families.
“According to data released in March 2026, indigenous students accounted for 38.6 per cent of Year One enrolments across 70 Chinese primary schools in Kuching, Samarahan and Serian divisions,” she said, pointing out that the schools had become important platforms for children of different ethnic backgrounds to learn together, understand one another and develop mutual respect.
“As such, their educational value extended beyond the Chinese community, representing a shared asset of Sarawak’s multicultural society,” she added.
On language education, she emphasised that Bahasa Malaysia, English and Chinese each served distinct and important purposes, with the national language, international communication and mother tongue education complementing rather than competing with one another.
She expressed concern over the proposed adjustments to Chinese and English lesson periods, particularly the MOE’s indication that 10 periods of Chinese language lessons per week would constitute the minimum requirement.
“Although schools could increase their instructional hours, however, not all institutions had equal access to qualified teachers and educational resources,” she said.
Tnay therefore called for clear institutional safeguards to ensure reasonable minimum instructional hours for Chinese and English, preventing differences in individual schools’ resources and capabilities from creating disparities in teaching quality.
She also acknowledged Muslim students’ right to receive Quranic recitation guidance through the Tasmik programme and respected the religious and cultural traditions of all communities.
However, she stressed that religious programmes and regular academic instruction must be properly coordinated to ensure they did not compromise teaching hours allocated to Chinese, English and other core subjects.
She urged MOE to introduce clear implementation guidelines that would allow religious freedom and students’ right to uninterrupted academic learning to coexist harmoniously.
Among the Association’s key recommendations are for the Ministry to disclose research findings and evidence supporting the proposed reforms, assess their impact on students’ proficiency in Chinese, Malay and English, and preserve the distinctive characteristics of Chinese primary schools.
It also called for meaningful consultations with Dong Jiao Zong, the United Chinese School Teachers’ Associations of Malaysia (Jiao Zong), school administrators, teachers and parent associations before implementation.
“A comprehensive post-implementation evaluation mechanism should also be established to determine whether the changes genuinely improve students’ learning outcomes,” she suggested.
Tnay said the issue went beyond the loss of several lesson periods each week, touching on the future of Chinese language education and the ability of Chinese primary schools to preserve their educational identity for generations to come.
“Chinese primary schools represent the collective efforts and dedication of countless pioneers, school boards, teachers, parents and members of the community,” she said.
The Association supported modernising education through AI, digital technology, science education and innovative thinking, but maintained that reforms must strengthen students’ overall capabilities rather than merely rearrange instructional periods.
“We support change, but change must have a purpose. We support reform, but reform must deliver measurable results.
“Safeguarding Chinese primary schools should not be viewed as opposing national education reform or Malaysia’s multicultural society. It means a call for a more comprehensive, equitable and inclusive education system that recognised the needs and rights of the country’s diverse communities,” she added. — DayakDaily
