DEC 5 — A very simple question: Will Chinese primary school Standard 6 students be using the same BM textbooks as national school students beginning next year?

There are several versions, but not a definite answer to this simple question!

Some of the Chinese and Tamil primary schools in the country have already received the SK version of BM textbooks from the education ministry in recent days, and since the ministry has earlier indicated its intention of standardizing BM textbooks for all schools of different language streams, the move has subsequently raised concerns and speculations in the Chinese community, worrying that the authorities might quietly push ahead with this measure.

Deputy minister Chong Sin Woon said there was indeed a proposal earlier on to standardize the textbooks but this had been rejected by the cabinet. Unfortunately he said the textbook bureau had taken things into its own hands, printing only the version for national schools.

Chong’s colleague, deputy minister P. Kamalanathan told a different version of the story. He said all primary schools in the country (SK and SJK) would be using the same BM textbooks with effect from 2016. In the meantime, minister in the PM’s department Wee Ka Siong said the cabinet had never made a decision for Chinese primary school Standard 6 students to use the standardized BM textbooks from next year.

If you were to do some googling, you should be able to find the news that he cabinet rejected the standardization of BM textbooks five years ago.

Adopting the standardized BM textbooks is by no means a trivial matter as this could impact the learning process and performance of Chinese primary school students, and could potentially lead to a permanent change in the unique characteristics of Chinese primary schools in the country. Unfortunately the government has yet to offer a firm explanation on this matter.

If all this has been the work of the textbook bureau, then we can’t help but to wonder why it is so bold as to disregard the cabinet’s decision. The country’s supreme administrative power lies with the federal cabinet, and if even such an important decision by the cabinet could be ignored, then something must be very wrong with the efficiency of this administration.

If the decision has really been made by the government, why is it now trying to secretly overturn a decision it has previously made? The government indeed owes the Chinese community a reasonable explanation. More importantly, what reasons can the government provide for implementing such a policy that contravenes the basic principles of teaching?

Such a move has shaken the faith the Chinese community has had towards the government. As a matter of fact, we can’t blame them for this, because our government simply has not shown enough sincerity to address such issues but has instead from time to time introduced measures that will invariably raise skepticism among the people.  

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or organisation and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.