poobalan.com

One good thing out of HINDRAF's actions, which no one can deny is the damage control by MIC. Suddenly, all kinds of statements are being issued. the latest by Hishamuddin at a Tamil Schools HM symposium.

I also heard Minnal FM's news yesterday night and today morning, in which it is claimed that RM16 million have been allocated under 9th Malaysian Plan for Tamil schools (16mil/523 = Rm30.592/per school/5 year) which in fact is not stated in the plan (read it here, here or here), while Komala mentioned a figure of RM64 million (read it here).

Todays NST and Star both quote Hishamuddin and give prominence Tamil Schools.

NST : Source

Minister: Tamil schools not neglected

KUALA LUMPUR: Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein yesterday lashed out at quarters who claim that Tamil schools are being marginalised, saying huge funds have been allocated to uplift the standard of vernacular schools.

He said if it was true that Tamil schools were regarded as a second-class institution in the education system, the government would not have introduced Tamil language in 70 national schools.
[70 out of ? schools? The issue is poor physical condition of the schools as well as provision of support materials etc., not just the language teaching]

"I would like to question these critics. If what they are claiming is true, why is it that Tamil schools have been chosen to be part of the cluster school project?
[Cluster school project has only 1 tamil school, no?]

 "Also, why did the government allocate huge sums to manage Tamil schools plus the millions under the Ninth Malaysia Plan?" he asked when closing a symposium for Tamil school headmasters in Seri Kembangan yesterday.
[RM30,592 per school/5 years or RM6118/school/year is huge sum?]

The minister also defended MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, who had been accused of not doing enough for Tamil schools. "Every time we meet, he will bring up issues related to Tamil schools," he said.
[err…how many times is that?]

Hishammuddin said what needed to be addressed was the problem of low enrolment in some Tamil schools. "We have to look at how best to utilise the resources of these schools. It has nothing to do with wanting to close them down," he said, adding that the Indian community must be wary of attempts to politicise Tamil school issues.
[Sure, when the schools can't be relocated when estates close down, or better still located next to cemeteries and sewarage tanks, I'm sure parents will be competing to enrol their kids]

Hishammuddin said Tamil schools had progressed, as evident in the overall improved results in the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah examination this year.
[2006 was 568, 2007 is 571, an increase of 3 7As students. Well, still an improvement, I guess]

He said the number of trained teachers in Tamil schools had also increased, with 90 per cent of the 7,000 teachers possessing formal training.
[What training? - degree? diploma? short courses?]

The Star: source

Hisham: Up to under-enrolled schools to decide

KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry has no plans to close under-enrolled schools. Instead it would leave it to the schools to decide on what they wanted to do.

[Err..we want to shift to better location, can or not?]

Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said: "They know their abilities. It's not my job to ask them to close or move," he said. The minister added that he was prepared to consider options for such schools. "If they want to, they can see me," he said yesterday after closing the national symposium for Tamil school headmasters. 

Hishammuddin said the matter should not be politicised as the pupils who might suffer. He said that it was untrue Tamil schools had been marginalised.

Popularity: 2% [?]

April 29, 2007
Good showing raises Tamil school stock By : CHOK SUAT LING
The good facilities at SJK(T) Jalan Bangsar help attract students.
More Indian students from educated and middle-income families are making Tamil schools their choice, educationists tell CHOK SUAT LING
The good facilities at SJK(T) Jalan Bangsar help attract students.
HE owns a successful business, and drives a sleek, eye-catching, black Volvo. R. Ravindran could certainly afford to enrol his two children in a private school.
But he sent them instead to a Tamil school in Kajang.
Asked why he chose vernacular education, Ravindran shrugs: “Many Indian parents now are doing the same. Most of my children’s classmates are from urban, educated, middle-income backgrounds. “Indian parents want their children to learn their mother tongue and be educated in schools that are sensitive to their needs.”
Ravindran enrolled his older son in a national school for two years but transferred him out when he was 10 years old.
“The boy was uncomfortable with a few things, like the doa during the morning assembly.”
Historically linked to the Indian labour sector, the 523 Tamil schools in Malaysia today are widely perceived to have low student enrolment, and to be populated by those from lower-income backgrounds.
That observation is apparently no longer accurate.
Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Jalan Bangsar headmaster A. Janarthana notes that there has been a gradual increase in the number of students from “more affluent” backgrounds in his school over the past 10 years.
“These are the students from families with a monthly income of more than RM3,000. Their parents are educated and professionals like lawyers and doctors, or from the business world. There has been a 10 per cent increase of such students from last year, but it is still not as much as we want.”
Tamil schools appear to be gaining popularity. There are now schools in urban areas with between 1,000 and 2,000 students, an unheard of phenomenon in past decades.
The Tamil Foundation Malaysia (TFM), a non-profit organisation set up in 1990 to help Indian students through education, has the statistics.
TFM executive director Jiwi Kathaiah says in 2005, Tamil school enrolment numbered 98,579, but this year, there are already more than 100,000 students.
There are several factors driving Indian parents towards Tamil schools. Among them are academic excellence, cultural familiarity and belonging, and exposure to their mother tongue.
Kathaiah, who is also Tamil school educated, notes that despite the odds, the academic performance of students in Tamil schools has improved.
“Numerous studies and research favour mother tongue education,” says Kathaiah.
“According to Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), students taught to read in their mother tongue acquire academic learning skills more quickly.”
According to Education Ministry statistics, the percentage of passes for all subjects in the Primary School Assessment Test, or UPSR, among Tamil school students, has improved over the years.
For Mathematics, only 67 per cent passed in 1998, but that went up to 84.4 per cent in 2004. The most impressive gain was in Bahasa Malaysia (writing), from 32 per cent in 1998 to 56.3 per cent in 2004.
The number of high achievers has also gone up significantly. In 1999, 45 students scored the maximum 7As. Last year, 570 achieved that feat.
Kathaiah says this proves that the Tamil school system is no longer the “weakest link in the academic system”, as it was once described.
There are difficulties adjusting to the national school system at the secondary level but Tamil schools have taken steps to cushion the initial language and culture shock experienced by students.
Many schools organise motivational sessions for Year Six pupils who have completed their UPSR.
Another reason why more Indian parents are turning to Tamil schools is the perceived Islamisation of national schools.
Janarthana observes that Indian students can identify better with the values imparted in Tamil schools, as they are the same as those at home:
“When they are comfortable with their environment, they feel liberated and can study better.”
Yayasan Strategik Sosial executive director Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria notes a sociological trend among fourth or fifth generation migrant communities to return to their roots
“It is a global phenomenon with no adverse effects,” Jayasooria says.
The fact that Science and Mathematics is now taught in English is another pull factor.
“Indian parents feel their children can get the best of everything in Tamil schools — they have Tamil language as a subject, besides Bahasa Melayu and English, and both Science and Mathematics is in English.
“And on top of it, they are in an environment which adheres to their culture, ethos, history and identity,” he adds.
The Education Ministry is aware of the increase in enrolment in Tamil schools.
“We have statistics of the rise in student numbers. But it is not viewed as a threat to national schools. It will not in any way affect our drive to make national schools the school of choice,” says an official.
He points out that the ministry has taken many steps to make national schools more attractive, including offering Tamil and Chinese language on a wider scale in national schools soon.
TFM president Manoharan Marimuthu agrees Tamil schools are neither a threat to national schools nor work against national integration.
“The two education streams actually complement the other. As for racial polarisation, the gulf among the races now is not a product of the vernacular school system. There are other factors at play.
“In fact, the existence of a parallel system which supports another language and culture is testament of our country’s unique diversity,” says Manoharan.
The government should, therefore, recognise the progress made in the Tamil school system and respect and support it, he argues, and Tamil schools should not continue to be treated like “stepchildren”.
“While the support of parents has helped uplift some schools, many remain in a sad state of neglect.”
Jayasooria agrees it is important to recognise the strength of Tamil schools, and fill in the gaps where there are weaknesses to ensure a level playing field.
He, too, insists there is no conclusive evidence to show that vernacular schools contribute towards problematic ethnic relations.
In fact, he says: “Immediate steps should be taken to convert all partially-assisted Tamil schools into fully government-aided ones.”
Another strategy to improve the condition of Tamil schools is to encourage parents from middle and upper socio-economic levels to send their children to Tamil schools in force, then demand and ensure that proper facilities are provided.
Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam points out that one Tamil school, SJK (Tamil) Simpang Lima, Klang, has been named a cluster school: “Parents should send their children there and to other Tamil schools.”
Jayasooria is confident this will happen.
“The people’s consciousness of their identity has increased. And this should be recognised as a positive development, not a problem.”
Ratha Mathivanan

Popularity: 1% [?]

one of the 30 schools is simpang lima tamil school. one other chinese school, one orang asli school, one remote area school and one special school (sekolah khas). another 4 agama school and the rest is national type schools.
Big plan for cluster school
KUALA LUMPUR: Academic excellence as well as gaining international recognition for non-academic success is the way ahead for the country’s cluster schools.
Principal Mat Noh Supaat of SMK Gunung Rapat, Ipoh, has big plans for the sports programme in his school, moving from aquatics, bowling and badminton to include “luxury sports” such as equestrian sports and golf.
“We’ve been performing well on the international level with our current activities but I want to diversify what we have and bring in more foreign coaches,” he said.
And, Mat Noh added, he also wanted to introduce international examinations such as the A-Levels and International Baccalaureate into the school’s assessment system.
SMK Gunung Rapat is among the first 30 schools selected under the Education Ministry’s cluster of excellent schools concept.
Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said it was not easy for the Cluster of Excellence Advisory Board to shortlist the 30 schools.
Those selected, he noted, were examples of schools with the potential to compete in the international arena.
“The 30 pioneer schools clearly have their own strengths and ethos. They reflect the type of schools that we want.
“In a way they are not that lucky because they have been thrust into the limelight and the pressure is on them to prove their potential,” he told reporters at a press conference after launching the concept yesterday at the KL Convention Centre.
Hishammuddin added that the success of the concept depended on the 30 schools, which would pioneer new approaches such as autonomous administration and school-based examinations.
“They will set the benchmark that the other schools will have to meet,” he said.
One of the main strategies in the National Education Blueprint 2006-2010, the cluster school concept is aimed at spurring outstanding schools to achieve world-class standards and become centres of excellence.
The schools are expected to hone their niche areas, which include co-curriculum activities, sports, science and technology, and technical and vocational studies.
The ministry is aiming for an initial batch of 300 schools. The other 270 places are open for applications and interested schools can apply through the state education departments.
According Hishammuddin, the heads of cluster schools will be sent for a two-month intensive management and leadership training programme at King’s College, University of London.

Popularity: 3% [?]