As expected, the government's move to use English to teach Science and Mathematics in Tamil primary schools obtained the necessary green light from MIC the party that claims to represent the entire Indian community in this country.

Last Saturday, MIC organised an education symposium where party leaders, Tamil school headmasters and Parent-Teacher Association chairpersons debated and discussed the merits and demerits of the new education scheme.

In all about 600 participants took part and in the end, an overwhelming 90 percent supported the move to use English to teach Science and Mathematics in all the 526 Tamil schools nationwide beginning next year.

The government has already decided on the implementation of this system in all national schools next year. The plan is to introduce English to teach these two subjects in Year One in primary schools, Form One in secondary schools and for Lower Six upper secondary students.

This rather rash move was suggested in the hope that Malaysians can improve the declining standard of English which has been glaringly evident in recent years. The government feared that with a disadvantage in the universal language, Malaysians would lose their competitive edge in this era of globalisation.

However, 'political sensitivities' have pushed the government to allow political parties such as MIC and MCA to decide if similar schemes should be initiated in Tamil and Chinese schools.

The opposition from the Chinese community has been very vocal, for reasons ranging from the loss of Chinese identity to a lack of infrastructure for successful implementation of the new system.

Also on Saturday, the MCA adopted a non-committal stand on the matter, merely saying that there is a need to examine and evaluate different approaches to improve the standard of English.

Subdued protest

As for Tamil schools, the opposition has been very subdued, coming only from the minority voices.

However, their concerns are quite valid. These groups claim that eventually Tamil language will be sacrificed with the use of English to teach Science and Mathematics.

The other complaint is that which Chinese groups share as well the government should increase the teaching period of English if it wants to improve proficiency of the language, rather than using English to teach the two subjects.

As it stands now, students in both Chinese and Tamil schools learn Science and Mathematics in their mother tongues, and this attributed to the high pass rate of the two subjects in the Year Six UPSR examination.

The opposing groups say that with English as the medium, students will find it difficult to obtain high pass marks in these subjects.

All these concerns were raised at the MIC symposium on Saturday.

Party president S Samy Vellu, speaking on behalf of the entire Indian community, said the fears expressed were unfounded, adding that he would get the government to ensure Tamils schools are protected at all costs.

He added that even if Tamil schools objected to the new system, students from the schools who proceed to secondary schools will have to struggle coping as the system would be in place in secondary schools by then.

As such, he said it would be better to adhere to the government's wishes.

To pacify the non-believers, he said he would propose to the government that the character of Tamil schools is safeguarded, English be taught from Year One in Tamil schools (at present it starts at Year Three) and that Tamil language is compulsorily taught in secondary schools.

Who can decide?

Thus at the end of the day Samy Vellu and the 600-odd participants decided on the fate of Tamil school pupils all over the country.

Immediately questions arise. Can politicians alone decide on this matter? Shouldn't parents have more say?

At the symposium, of the 600 who attended, 422 were Tamil school headmasters and 213 were PTA chairpersons. They surely do not represent the views of the entire Indian community, or even the views of the parents whose children are in Tamil schools.

The government itself was wrong to defer its decision in the implementation of this system in Chinese and Tamil schools by allowing political parties to decide on it. Why didn't the government go straight to the people for their views?

Are there double standards here or is this, as some claim, the beginning of the end for vernacular schools?

By looking at Tamil schools, the end seems close, despite whatever assurances given by Samy Vellu.

Under the new system, of the seven examination papers that Tamil school students will sit for in UPSR, only the two Tamil language papers will be in mother tongue. All important subjects will be either in Bahasa Malaysia or English. Tamil will be used for other non-essential subjects.

And once the system is completely implemented, most probably by 2009, Tamil schools will, in all probability, be only teaching Tamil language in their mother tongue. All other subjects could be taught in either other languages or be dropped all together there are precedents for this.

Coupled with the rapid development in the country, more estates where most Tamil schools are located will be turned into commercial areas and this will further reduce the number of Tamil schools in the country. The consequence: reduction in number of students in these schools.

Countdown begins

Given these scenarios, it will be no surprise if calls are made in the next ten years for the closure of Tamil schools on the basis that if Tamil schools are only around to teach Tamil language, that could be done in national schools.

Political leaders of that day in future, claiming to represent the Indian community in this country, will make promises that they will ensure Tamil language is not left to die and will plead for the government to implement a new system whereby mother tongue education is available to all national schools.

This could very well lead to proposals about teaching mother tongue in national schools, at the expense of closing down Tamil schools and with it the end of other things students in vernacular schools learn aspects of culture, tradition and sense of pride and belonging to their community.

Given this grim picture, it is sad to note that the decision on Saturday by MIC has started the countdown for the end of Tamil schools in this country.

The irony being that it is being mooted by the very same people who claim they will not allow Tamil schools to disappear.

By all accounts it is quite apparent that the issue perhaps is not one concerning the eradication of Tamil schools, but their natural deaths, by the powers that be.

K KABILAN is the News Editor of malaysiakini.