STUDY GUIDE

HBEC2303

Curriculum Development: The Malaysian Perspective

Weekly Study Guide

Week 1
Topic 1: History of education in Malaysia
Introduction
This topic discusses the history of education in Malaysia. The discussion includes the development of education before the arrival of British, during the British colonial government, and also the era before Independence and after Independence. This topic also discusses the educational reports such as the Barnes Report, the Razak Report and the Rahman Talib Report. The Razak Report resulted in Malaysias first legislation on education as an independent nation the Education Ordinance of 1957.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this topic, it is expected that you will be able to: 1. 2. Explain the history and development of education in Malaysia; and Discuss the importance of educational reports which lead to national integration in Malaysia. Education Before the British Coloneal Governmment (a) Before British colonialisation, education was informal and limited to acquiring skills vital for survival, like fishing and farming for boys, and cookery and weaving for girls. A more advanced and formal education during that period came in the form of the pondok or hut schools and education there was based on Islamic studies. Students would study the Quran under the tutelage of a Haji or Khatib, in a hut set up by the scholar, either at his home, a surau or a mosque. Christian missionary schools which were established during the Portuguese and Dutch occupations did not get much response from the Malay community, who feared that their children would be influenced by Christianity. Historically, the pondok type of education began in Malaya in the northern and eastern states of Peninsular - Kelantan, Terengganu, 9

1.1

(b)

(c)

(d)

STUDY GUIDE

HBEC2303

Curriculum Development: The Malaysian Perspective

Kedah and Perlis. It originated from Patani or Sumatera. Pondok education in Kedah is said to have originated from Sumatera while pondoks in Kelantan and Terengganu came from Patani, (Ibrahim, 1994) . (e) The term pondok is used because people used to come to study and build small houses (pondok) around the teachers home or madrasah, (Amran Kasimin, 1993). The arrangement of the buildings is very interesting. Like a lecture hall where all the students eyes are directed towards the teacher, the pondoks are all directed to the madrasah. It is a mark of respect that the students are required to have towards the teacher (Fauziah Shaffie, 2001). The most significant attribute of the pondok system is that knowledge seekers come at their own volition with selfimprovement (in the context of being a Muslim) as the goal. Financially pondoks depend on public contribution and donation. The teachers teach voluntarily without taking any pay or salary. (Abdul Halim Mohd Pauzi, 2007).

(f)

(g)

1.2

Education during British colonial (a) There is no clear policy on education during British Colonial Government. Due to the British Policy on divide and rule, the British did not intend to establish rapport between the different races in Malaya through a standardised education system. During the colonial period, four types of school existed - English schools, where English was used as medium of instruction, and three types of vernacular schools - Malay, Chinese and Indian. Each used different mediums of instruction and provided a different syllabus. The various vernacular schools were catered to only a particular ethnic group, run by missionaries, rubber and coffee plantation owners, or local residents association. British policy tried to maintain the status quo of the different races in Malaya and identified them with their various economic activities. The British were to govern, the Malays to cultivate the fields, the Chinese to run the mining industry and businesses, while the Indians to work in plantation and estates.

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

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STUDY GUIDE

HBEC2303

Curriculum Development: The Malaysian Perspective

(f)

The four types of school existed were: (i) English-medium schools Run by missionaries and the British government. The oldest school in Malaysia is the Penang Free School (1816). Next Malacca High School (1826), Singapore Free School (1834) and Victoria Institution (1893). Compared to the other schools, English education was the best as it consisted of both primary and secondary levels and students could further their education until university level in England or at Raffles College in Singapore. Most of the schools were in the urban areas. The Malay community did not send their children to the English-medium school due to the distance and school fees. They also felt that English education did not suit their religion and culture, on top being afraid that the younger generation would be influenced by the Christian missionaries. The British, at the same time, did not go all out to encourage local people of Malaya to pursue higher education in English school.

(ii)

Malay-medium school Malay vernacular schools used Malay as the medium of instruction. It emphasised on 3 Rs Reading, Writing, and arithmetic. It also focused on Living Skills, for example vegetable gardening, poultry farming, basket making and handicrafts. Teachers training courses were provided by the Malay College in Singapore, Malay College in Malaca, Malay College in Matang, Perak and also Sultan Idris Training College in Tanjung Malim, Perak. Later in 1935, the Malay Womens Training College in Malaca also provided the same course. To suite the syllabus catered in Malay Schools, the Sultan Idris Training College, which was founded in 1922, aimed at equipping teachers with elementary gardening and agriculture skills.

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STUDY GUIDE

HBEC2303

Curriculum Development: The Malaysian Perspective

Education was only provided at the primary level. The British left out secondary schools for fear that the Malay community would not maintain their status quo. It was enough for them that government administration positions were held by Malay princes and the sons of the elite Malays who studied in English school. To the Malays, the pondok schools still form a very important means of education.

(iii)

Education for the Chinese The education or the school was established by the Chinese community. They used Chinese as the medium of instruction. Syllabus, teachers and textbooks were imported from China. Due to fear of increasing politicisation of Chinese schools might disrupt the British government administration in Malaya, the School Registration Enactment was passed in 1919, to control political activities in school. In 1929, the British removed all xenophobic elements in Chinese texts, and introduced more teacher training programmes and formalised Mandarin as the official medium of instruction for Chinese school in 1935.

(iv)

Education for the Indians Provided by plantation owners. Tamil, Thelugu, Malayalam and Punjabi or Hindi was the medium of instruction. Textbooks and learning materials were imported from India. Subjects such as history, geography and culture, which pertained to India, were taught in Indian Schools. Most of the teachers were not trained or equipped with very little training. The quality of the Tamil schools at that time was very poor. In 1937, a new training scheme for Tamil teachers was introduced.

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HBEC2303

Curriculum Development: The Malaysian Perspective

Like the Malay schools, there was no provision for secondary education.

1.3

Education before independence (a) Barnes Report 1951 (i) The report recommended that all existing schools should be transformed into national schools in which children of the various ethnic groups would be taught through the medium of Malay and English. Secondary schools had to maintain English as the medium of instruction. Schools use same syllabus. The Chinese saw the Barnes Committee proposed as an attempt to eliminate their language and cultural identities and protested against it. To please Chinese, another committee called Fenn-Wu Committee was formed in 1951.

(ii) (iii) (iv)

(v)

(b)

Fenn-Wu Report 1952 (i) (ii) The Fenn-Wu Report supported the formation of a national education system. It stressed to maintain the Chinese-medium schools.

(c)

Educational Ordinance 1952 (i) (ii) It was based on the Barnes Report. Chinese and Indian did not support the report; they protested the abolition of their mother tongues as one of the mediums of instruction. Due to the failing economy and shortage of trained teachers for the national schools, the Education Ordinance of 1952 was not fully implemented. In 1955, another committee was formed, chaired by Dato Abdul Razak Hussin and it was given the task of reviewing the education system of Malaya.

(iii)

(iv)

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STUDY GUIDE

HBEC2303

Curriculum Development: The Malaysian Perspective

(d)

Razak Report 1956 (i) It highlighted that the education system should compromise of two types of primary school standard primary schools (Malay as the medium of instruction) and standard-type primary schools (Kuo-Yu or Tamil or English as the medium of instruction). These two types of primary schools should use common syllabus and examination. Malay was to be a compulsory subject. All teachers should be trained with common syllabus in teachers training colleges. All national secondary schools should use a common syllabus and examination and enforce Malay and English as their compulsory subjects.

(ii) (iii) (iv) (v)

1.4

Post Independence Education Report (a) Rahman Talib Report 1960 (i) The committee was headed by Abdul Rahman Talib, to consolidate the education system of the country. Their task was to review the implementation of the National Education Policy contained in the Razak Report and tried to improve the education system in the Federation of Malaya. Emphasised on the use of Malay as the medium of instruction. Some other recommendations were: free primary school education; automatic promotion until Form Three; introduction of Standard Five assessment examination; emphasis on Moral Education; enhancement of vocational and technical education; teaching of Islamic education; monitoring on primary schools by school inspectorate to ensure the quality of teaching; and

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

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STUDY GUIDE

HBEC2303

Curriculum Development: The Malaysian Perspective

(v)

emphasis on teacher training programme.

The Report of the Education Review Committee 1960, resulted in the Education Act 1961.

(b)

The Education Act 1961 (i) (ii) In 1961, the Parliament passed the Education Act based on the Razak Report and the Rahman Talib Report. The most significant outcome of the Education Act 1961 was that a definite timetable was set to phase out Englishmedium schools and Chinese-medium secondary schools into Bahasa Melayu-medium secondary schools.

(c)

The Report of the Cabinet Committee to review Educational Policy 1979 (Mahathir Report) (i) The purpose of the report was to review the goals and effectiveness of the present education system for the purpose of meeting the manpower needs of the country, both for the short and long terms, and also to ensure the education system meets the countrys goals of producing a united disciplined and skilled society. Mahathir Report gave more attention to the development of basic literacy and competency skills as well as moral and spiritual values. The new Primary School Curriculum was introduced in 1982 as a pilot project in 302 schools. In 1983, KBSR was implemented nationwide. To maintain curriculum continually, the integrated Secondary School Curriculum (KBSM) was pilot tested in 1988 and implemented nationwide in 1989.

(ii)

(iii) (iv) (v)

Impacts of educational policies were: (a) A racial quota system was set up for entry in tertiary education. Other preferential practices-construction of elite fully residential schools for bumiputeras and the near total bumiputera monopoly of government scholarship. During this period the national language policy laid down by the Rahman Talib Report was implemented without any further delay, and no resistance from non-bumiputras. Please refer to Anna Christina Abdullah at this link (home hiroshima- u.ac.jp/cice/87.pdf) 15

(b)

STUDY GUIDE

HBEC2303

Curriculum Development: The Malaysian Perspective

to get more information on the key milestone implementation of the Bahasa Malaysia policy.

in

the

Study Questions
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Discuss the development of education in Federated Malaya before British colonialisation. British policy in Malaya was divide and rule. Discuss how British adapted the policy to the system of education in Malaya. Discuss the different types of primary education during British colonial government. Give four reasons why Malay parents did not send their children to the English schools during British colonial government. Discuss why The Barnes Report 1950, were not supported by the Chinese Community. Discuss the impacts of the Razak Report toward the implementation of the National Education policy.

Readings
Ahmad Naim Bin Zaid. Adult Education: The Role of Sekolah Pondok as an Alternative in Advocating Personal Development. Assessed August 14, 2011 at (http://www.scribd.com/doc/36737293/The-Role-ofSekolah-Pondok ). Malaysian Development Experience, Changes & Challenges, INTAN, Kuala Lumpur, 1994). Assessed August 15, 2011 at (http://www. scribd.com/doc/51200765/Development...system-in-malaysia. Anna Christina Abdullah. Educationl Development in Malaysia: Meeting the challenges of national integration. Assessed August 10, 2011 at (home hiroshima-u.ac.jp/cice/87.pdf). Education System in Malaysia: Post Independence. Assessed August 12, 2011 at (kheru2006.webs.com/a_development_of_education_system_ in...).

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