Several Christian leaders in the country have proposed a revival of mission schools. The reason - to arrest the declining education standards. The group of leaders, at a recent congregation in Johor of non-Catholic sects, agreed that current education policies are out of step with reality and have resulted in jobless graduates. "We want to bring back the good old days," Prof Dr Tarcisius Chin told a gathering of over 50 leaders at the
Council of Churches Malaysia (CCM)
12th triennial general assembly held at Pulai Springs on Tuesday.
Representatives from Peninsular-based Anglican, Protestant, Methodist and Lutheran churches were in attendance. "We should take a serious look into the revival of mission schools, considering the decline of education standards," said the former chief executive officer of De La Salle Institute. Tarcisius, also a former Universiti Malaya academician, said the proposed mission-style schools would not preach Christianity to its students. He said the schools would emphasis character development and extra-curricular activities. Such schools would be funded by a congregation of several non-Catholic sects.
'Go back to basics'
The schools will accept students from all races and religions and subjects will be taught mainly in English, but with emphasis on learning second languages such as Mandarin, Tamil or Arabic. He said the current model for development students has been largely inherited from the "colonial days" and "adjusted from time to time to national requirement." "Twenty years ago, nationalism affected the education policies with the abandonment of English as a medium." "Now while the world has moved on and new educational models have been introduced elsewhere, our educational paradigm is still focussed on producing graduates with specialised academic knowledge ... this needs to be reviewed," he said.
Since 2003, English is used as a medium of teaching in science subjects. Tarcicus said a revival of mission schools is "to go back to basics" and bring about a curriculum change that "will create the all-round personality". "Over the past 35 years, education has moved from holistic development to the acquisition of paper qualifications." "The mission schools of yore were concerned not only with delivering academic success but, more importantly, developing character and imbibing universal values," he said.
Funding a problem
Tarcisius said a move in education will demand a radical shift in education strategies, policies and processes from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education. During the ensuing question session, several representatives expressed doubt over how such a proposal can be approved by the government. Tarcisius said such a model might not be rejected as senior members of the cabinet include Christians and "Muslims who are sympathetic".
One bishop pointed out that devoid of being able to preach Christianity, the mission-style school would be little different from national or 'vision' schools. He also pointed out that the biggest problem of such a mission school was obtaining funds. There is currently no discretion for schools or universities to act independently of the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education. To encourage integration among the multi-racial, multi-religious students, the government is attempting to establish 'vision' schools, where facilities of several national schools are shared.
One of the enduring legacies of the colonial era, at least 800 mission schools and convents were established throughout Malaysia since the early 19th century. Mission schools were largely responsible for educating the masses in English and spreading Christianity. However, the schools were also noted for its frequent practice of corporal punishment; the caning of students in particular.
Some of the top mission schools, such as La Salle, St John's Institution, Victoria Institution, are considered leading educational institutions in the country. By the 1970s, the administrative powers of the brothers and nuns were removed in a nationalistic push to reduce the independence of the schools. (source:
Malaysiakini)
Tags: Christian Council of Malaysia, Education, Mission School, Vision School, Tarcisius Chin, School, Anglican, Protestant, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, La Salle, St John's Institution, Victoria Institution, Christianity
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