Chinese community’s emphasis on education — a benchmark

IT is interesting to note how education is given such strong emphasis among the Chinese community. Studying hard has somehow become one of their core values, the roots of which can be traced back to ancient China, where education has been regarded as a ladder of social ascendancy.

David H Uttal and Chen Chuansheng (1988) stated that education had always been regarded as an extremely important means of personal advancement in China. A poem in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) by Wang Zhu, literally translated as “The emperor values heroes, book can teach you (how to be). Everything else is not important, only study is the most important”, spoke volume the strong emphasis on education back then.

But why is “study” so important to the ancient Chinese community? Well, examinations were used as the sole criterion for the selection of officials in Chinese civil service from the seventh century until 1905, where the imperial civil service examination began in 605 AD in the Sui Dynasty.

It developed and matured in the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty, and continued into the Qing Dynasty, and lasted for 1,300 years.

The imperial civil service examination had a towering influence on Chinese society.

Now, passing the examination would mean a better life characterised by receiving respect from others as well as obtaining power and fortune from the position. In search of a better life, many poor scholars studied for years and years in the hope of passing the examination and obtaining a prestigious official position. And so it was generation after generation in China, where studying hard became a tradition. In the Tang Dynasty, 80 per cent of the prime ministers were from Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). In the 267 years of the Qing Dynasty, 120 examinations were held with 26,000 people passing the highest imperial examinations becoming Jinshi.

To cut to the chase, such influence still lives on among the present Chinese community, where parents are willing to make huge sacrifices to ensure their children have a tertiary education. If one gets a higher score, he or she can go to college. Whether one can enter a college to receive formal higher education became a bridge to a successful life for high school students.

It is the symbol of success in the 12 year’s basic education. A 1,500-year-old Chinese proverb reads, “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.”

On the other hand, Islam too has made seeking knowledge incumbent upon all Muslims and has deemed not doing so as a sin. The Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), said in an authentic narration (hadith): “Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim” (Al-Tirmidhi).

This obligation to acquire knowledge is not limited to a certain group among the Muslims, but rather it is as much as an obligation upon women as it is for men, the young and the old, and the poor and the rich.

“‘Allah’ raises of those who believe and those who have been given knowledge many levels”(Quran 58:11). ‘Allah’ has raised the ranks and status of those who have knowledge, and has praised them in many places in the Quran.

Chinese schools in Malaysia have indeed come a long way and gained popularity even among the non-Chinese parents. ‘Chinese Education – A Reflection of its Past and Future Direction’ by Florence Kuek reported at least 10 per cent of students studying in Chinese schools came from non-Chinese backgrounds.

Among the attractions are Chinese schools often excel in public examinations especially in Science and Mathematics. Some non-Chinese parents want their children to acquire Mandarin language skills, which is a much sought-after skill in the job market. Historically, Chinese education in the country started in the early 19th century, where by 1815, there were already three Chinese schools in Melaka.

To understand better about Chinese education in Sarawak, I recently spoke to United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong) chairman Temenggong Dato Vincent Lau. Lau is no stranger to the arena of Chinese education. He has all this while devoted his time and energy for the betterment of Chinese education, including finding ways to get the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) recognised by the Ministry of Education.

He spoke passionately about Chinese education in Sarawak and the role of Dong Zong. He told me there were 60 Chinese independent schools in the country, of which 14 are in Sarawak. As it is, Lau said the role of Dong Zong is not confined to Chinese independent schools alone.

The body also looks into the affairs of education in Chinese primary schools or SJK(C) numbering about 1,200 across the country. SJK(C) I was made to understand came under MOE unlike Chinese independent schools. It is part of the national education mainstream to which Chinese independent schools are not. The medium of education in SJK(C) is Mandarin while the national type schools (SK) have Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of education.

I also learned from him that many Chinese parents would prefer to send their children to SJK(C). He told from the 1,200 SJK(C) in the country, a large portion of it or may be about 40 per cent have low pupil populations. If a school has below 300 pupils, it is considered having a low pupil population. Many of the smaller schools are in the outskirts where the Chinese population is shrinking due to rural-urban migration. Lau told me that in the past when road connectivity was poor, schools were set up to cater for residents in certain areas.

But as development set in, land opened up and road connection followed suit. All of a sudden, the distance between these schools was shortened, which was another reason for the low number of pupils as there were too ‘many’ schools in the vicinity.

Last January, The Borneo Post reported that a Primary 1 pupil at SJK Boi Ing in Bukit Lan and another in SJK Yong Shing in Stabau would receive star treatment of sorts when they showed up at their schools. All eyes were on them because both of these village schools only had one Primary 1 pupil each!

That aside, I recalled that my mother studied in a Chinese school across the river in Pulau Selalo, which was the only Chinese school there previously and this enable her to speak fluent Foochow and understand Mandarin. Many of these SJK(C) have non-Chinese pupils as their parents, working in sawmills and plantations, found it easier to send their children there. In some cases, it is not surprising to find more Bumiputera pupils in these schools than Chinese.

Noting this unique feature and as our conversation progressed, I asked Lau whether it was possible in a school to have two mediums of instruction, namely Bahasa Malaysia and Mandarin. You see, while it is important to retain the identity of SJK(C) and national type schools, perhaps in certain schools we can have this type of education model to give more options to parents.

The next agenda in our discussion touched on the Chinese independent schools in Sarawak. While there are 14 of them, only five could be considered bigger schools. The Chinese independent schools use the UEC.

For the record, some 200 top universities worldwide, including 80 of the top ranking institutions of higher learning recognise the UEC.

Acknowledging the importance and contributions of Chinese education not just to the Chinese community but also other communities in Sarawak, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem was adamant in his decision to recognise UEC. The move to recognise the UEC according Adenan is also to reduce further brain drain to foreign countries.

The Selangor government, which is under the opposition, followed Sarawak’s step on the recognition of the UEC. Adenan was firm in his decision despite being ridiculed by certain quarters. He further recalled Chinese independent schools had never received a single sen from the government in the past.

He has given out RM7 million and will give Chinese independent schools RM5 million this year and RM6 million next year.

My diagnosis is that the Chinese community’s emphasis on education is to be successful wherever they are. In other words, put them anywhere and you can be sure they will excel so long as they have knowledge.

Other races must emulate the Chinese in that regard and have education as part of their culture too.