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SwarnaBumiputran of Malaysia

Posts Tagged ‘Racial Integration’

NEWS:Education system blamed for Survey findings

March 29th, 2007

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Education system blamed

By MAZWIN NIK ANIS and EE-LYN TAN

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/3/29/nation/17286868&sec=nation

KUALA LUMPUR: National Unity and Integration Department director-general Datuk Azman Azmin said the most probable reason some teenagers did not have friends of different races was because of the “environment they are in, especially in schools.

He said parents’ tendency to send their children to vernacular schools instead of national schools meant students lacked the opportunity to mingle and interact with their peers from other races.

“I attribute the findings to the current education system, which has resulted in lack of interaction among students of different racial backgrounds. There are also other factors that compound this, which we will try to determine,” he said when asked to comment on the findings of the survey.

Azman, however, expressed concern over the results of the survey where respondents said mixing with other races was not something that concerned them.

He said this did not reflect the “future Malaysians” which the Government aimed to inculcate and promote, adding that his department was working closely with the Education and Higher Education ministries on a programme to promote interaction and integration among students.

This would be known as the Students’ Integration for Unity Programme and Azman said it would involve students working together at various activities, including camping and motivation talks.

National Parent-Teacher Associations Collaborative Council president Assoc Prof Dr Mohd Ali Hassan felt schools should promote unity in diversity by encouraging racial integration among their students

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Posted in BornInMalaysia, Tamil-Schools

Tags: Racial Integration Student Statistics

Many younsters aren’t concerned about racial integration

March 29th, 2007

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And yet number of As increasing, number of UPSR/PMR/SPM/STPM achievers increasing…good what….

students more worried about getting diseases..very good..concerned on personal hygiene.

Also perhaps the Star should install a better spelling checker so that “younsters” can be corrected.

poobalan

Survey: Many younsters aren’t concerned about racial integration

By SIMRIT KAUR

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/3/29/nation/17225671&sec=nation

PETALING JAYA: Racial integration among the younger generation in Malaysia still has some way to go, judging by the results of a nationwide survey of 4,400 Form Four students.

Only 52% of the teenagers said they had a friend of a different race.

In fact, mixing with other races was not something that concerned many of the respondents. Only 12.8% felt that it was an issue, while 63.9% were more worried about contracting a disease.

The Cognitive and PsychoSocial Profile of Malaysian Adolescents (CoPs) study was carried out in August by a group of academics from the Education Faculty of Universiti Malaya (UM).

Prof John Arul Phillips, a former UM academic and current dean of the Arts and Social Sciences Faculty at Open University Malaysia, said this was the most complete study of its kind because of the large sampling.

“We went to 44 schools in rural areas, towns and cities across Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.

A total of 16.6% of the 16-year-olds surveyed also admitted to smoking. They cited emotional pressure (27.6%), a desire to be accepted by friends (25.5%) and wanting to be cool and macho (20.1%) as the most common reasons for taking up the habit. Another 12.6% said they were influenced by the mass media.

Other findings include:

·8.8% reported using drugs;

·10.7% never eat breakfast;

·8% have never used a computer; and

·3% said they were often not interested in studies.

The study also compared different groups of students. There was no major difference in resilience and self-esteem levels between males and females, but non-smokers were found to be more resilient and had higher self-esteem. In addition, males reported better relationships with their teachers compared with females.

CoPs project leader Assoc Prof Dr Fatimah Hashim from UM’s Education Faculty said:

“There was very low correlation between academic performance in PMR and psycho-social attributes such as self-esteem, resiliency and family bonding.”

In the area of general knowledge, only 23.3% of respondents identified Lee Hsien Loong as the Prime Minister of Singapore and 43.3% knew that Bill Gates founded Microsoft.

However, 81% knew that Manchester United was an English football club.

Students were poor in civic knowledge, too. For example, only 58.4% knew that Parliament consisted of the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara.

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Posted in BornInMalaysia

Tags: Racial Integration Student Statistics

His lessons on racial integration will live on

March 27th, 2007

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His lessons on racial integration will live on 27 Mar 2007
SUBANG JAYA: Headmaster S. Subramaniam may have retired but he has left a valuable legacy to his teachers and students — racial integration.
The headmaster of SJK (T) Tun Sambanthan, one of the three schools that form the Vision School in USJ 15, here, was handpicked for the job.
And he has proved to be more than equal to the task.
Together with his colleagues from SK Dato Onn Jaafar and SJK (C) Tun Tan Cheng Lock, he has helped mould the students at the Vision School to be true Malaysians.
Today, this school is regarded by many as the most successful of the eight Vision Schools — conceptualised to promote racial integration.
Subramaniam, 56, was understandably sad to bid farewell.
“Thirty-six years have gone just like that. I am sad,” he said during a retirement party by the schools’ staff.
Subramaniam had spent a significant period of his teaching career in Tamil schools in the estates.
“I can still remember my first class. My legs were shaking. I was really nervous,” said the father of three.
Although many students feared his booming voice, his bark was definitely worse than his bite.
“He is quite fierce but he is also friendly and greets us when he sees us,” said R.Sharvnee, 11.
And what is his secret to winning the children’s hearts?
“Treat the students as if they are your own,” was his parting shot.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Tuesday/National/20070327074038/Article/local1_html

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Posted in Indian, Tamil-Schools

Tags: Racial Integration Vision School

Picture of harmony at Vision School party

March 27th, 2007

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Picture of harmony at Vision School party 27 Mar 2007 Rina De Silva
SUBANG JAYA: The Vision School in USJ 15 here which houses a national school, a Tamil school and a Chinese school in one compound, was a picture of multiracial unity yesterday.
The three schools had gathered for a retirement party for S. Subramaniam, the headmaster of SJK (T) Tun Sambanthan.
The other two schools are SK Dato Onn Jaafar and SJK (C) Tun Tan Cheng Lock.
Teachers from the three schools helped organise the event while students from the national and Chinese schools also performed.
In a display of cross-cultural understanding, a Chinese school teacher had helped to choreograph a Tamil dance for the Chinese school students’ performance.
However, the pretty picture was not reflected off stage. Although a handful of students tried to strike up conversations with those from the other schools, most were contented to mingle with their own schoolmates.
Dhivvyaa Krishna Muthy, 11, said she liked talking to students from the other schools but had not established a close friendship with anyone.
“There is a Chinese girl I usually talk to at the canteen but I do not know her name,” she said.
Teacher P. Sivamalar said most students preferred to mix with their own classmates.
She said teachers from the three schools made an effort to set a good example by mingling and sitting with each other.
“During Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and Deepavali, the three schools will work together on projects for the celebrations.”
SK Dato Onn Jaafar headmaster Kamarulzaman Zakaria, SJK (C) Tun Tan Cheng Lock headmaster Tan Hock Thiam and Subramaniam are the best of friends.
They will meet up for teh tarik at the school canteen and “argue” over school matters.
The three insist that the Vision School concept is working.
“It works because the students are not fighting,” said Subramaniam.
He believed the concept worked well in Subang Jaya as the community was more open to the idea of racial integration.
He warned that it may not work in other areas where one race formed the majority.
Tan said the students did not harbour any fear or mistrust of those not of their race.
Kamarulzaman said the concept enabled students of different races to spend time together.
It is during games, sports and festivals that racial integration takes place. The three schools will send their best players to form a team to compete against other schools.
Subramaniam said educationists from Britain, Canada, Africa and the Middle East had visited the school to see how it was run.
Vision Schools share common facilities, such as canteen and school halls, and interests, such as club activities and games. The objective is to promote racial integration.