The government's 'standard excuse' not to build new Chinese or Tamil primary schools - that they are still under-enrolled - has been debunked by its own admission that the number of under-enrolled national schools is even bigger, said Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang.

The veteran DAP leader noted that according to the recently launched National Education Blueprint 2006-2010, in 2005 there were 530 Chinese primary schools and 329 Tamil primary schools with less than 150 pupils each.

National primary schools, however, figure even larger with 1,642 with less than 150 pupils enrolled.

This did not stop the building of new national primary schools, which Lim said increased from 4,994 schools with an enrolment of 1,770,004 pupils in 1990 to 5,761 schools with an enrolment of 2,391,223 in 2005.

This stood in contrast with the drop of Chinese primary schools from 1,288 in 1990 to 1,287 in 2005 despite an enrollment increase from 581,082 to 645,669 in the past 15 years, he said.

Unstated policy

The number of Tamil primary schools, similarly, fell from 538 in 1990 to 525 in 2005 despite the enrolment for the period having increased from 96,120 to 98,579, he added.

Under-enrolled national primary schools, however, increased from 1,527 in 1995 to 1,547 in 2000 to reach 1,642 in 2005.

"In contrast, the number of under-enrolled Chinese and Tamil primary schools have increased at a much slower pace, that is, 490 in 1995 to 503 in 2000 and 530 in 2005 for Chinese primary schools and 309 in 1995 to 330 in 2000 and 329 in 2005 for Tamil primary schools," Lim said in a statement today.

"The government policy to strengthen national primary schools should not be at the price of denying to Chinese and Tamil primary schools fair and proper development to meet the increased enrolment and educational needs of school children whose parents want them to be in these schools," he added.

"It is the unstated policy of the Education Ministry not to build new Chinese and Tamil primary schools under the five-year plans to meet the enrolment and educational needs of school children whose parents want them to be in these schools the only exception is when the issue is used to fish for votes during general elections with the promises of a handful of new Chinese primary schools," said Lim.

"This discriminatory policy must end," he added.

In his reply to M Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) in Parliament last year, Deputy Education Minister Noh Omar revealed the Education Ministry's decision that no new Chinese or Tamil schools would be built in the next five years under the Ninth Malaysia Plan