pywong
15th October 2010, 05:51 AM
If we understand that the objective of the Ruling Class is to control the minds of the young and to mould them into unthinking automatons, then we will understand why good schools are being slowly squeezed to death through lack of support and funding.
UMNO and the Ministry of Education has only one objective - a one-school system controlled by Malays and taught in Malay. Control the language and you control a big part of the minds of the children. Language is like an operating system. Slow down the language and you slow down the thinking.
Mission schools held back
THERE have been many institutions that have contributed to the development of Malaysia’s populace over the last 200 years. Some have been forgotten while others are still revered.
But quite likely, very few are still held with the immense esteem in which Christian mission schools are for providing free or affordable education to tens of thousands of children over the last century.
It is no exaggeration to say that without any regard to a child’s race, religion or creed, the 200-odd mission schools have left an indelible collective mark on the educational upbringing of many Malaysians, including numerous individuals who are today national leaders and prominent figures.
Ironically, the general state of these mission schools is today a far cry from what they were during their glory years. Beset with decaying facilities, indiscipline, and declining education and teaching standards, most of them are a pale reflection of how they operated in years past.
Recently, a group of concerned alumni of a La Salle school in Penang rang the alarm bell on this sorry state of affairs. Led by MIC Jalan P. Ramlee branch chairman Dr B. Anthony, the group wants to initiate a campaign to promote the revival of the quality and integrity of mission schools, which also include a string of convent schools.
Among the core concerns is that of financial support. Unlike national schools, mission schools throughout the country are today provided only partial funding by the federal government.
This is despite the fact that they have the exact same system and curricula as ordinary national schools. Furthermore, the teachers who operate there are also full civil servants appointed by the Education Ministry, as is the practice in all public schools.
This question of why mission schools are being marginalised in such a way when they are, for all intents and purposes, now operating just as normal public schools is one that is frequently raised by those concerned about the institutions.
In fact, the lack of funding is holding back mission schools from attaining facilities on par with most top public schools. This is a common affliction affecting most mission schools today.
There is however one significant aspect manifest in this shortcoming – the demonstration of devotion from the schools’ alumni. It is a fact that most of those who passed through the hallowed corridors of mission schools, nurtured during their most formative years in the aura of discipline and inspiration provided by the schools, have remained loyal to their alma mater.
Some time last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak himself reminisced about his years at the St John’s Institution in Kuala Lumpur when he officiated the opening of the Conference of Christian Mission Schools in Malaysia.
"The ethos of mission schools," he said, "shaped the values and beliefs of students which is in line with 1 Malaysia."
But the conditions of the schools today do not at all reflect their contributions and legacy to the history of the nation.
In 2007, a group of Christian leaders had proposed that a concerted effort be undertaken to revive the glory of mission schools. Except for the occasional rhetoric from politicians and those in power, there has not been any major progress reported since then.
Recently the Penang government gave some allocations to mission schools in the state to help ease their financial constraints.
Perhaps the major turning point for mission schools was the gradual disappearance of the reverend brothers and sisters who oversaw their education systems, particularly since independence, and more so after the 80s.
But the heart of the matter is that the schools now come under the ambit of the Education Ministry. It is up to the federal government to undertake any concrete initiative to help revive the standards and prestige of the schools, if there is any hope at all of them reclaiming their glory years. Sun2surf. (http://sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=52882)
UMNO and the Ministry of Education has only one objective - a one-school system controlled by Malays and taught in Malay. Control the language and you control a big part of the minds of the children. Language is like an operating system. Slow down the language and you slow down the thinking.
Mission schools held back
THERE have been many institutions that have contributed to the development of Malaysia’s populace over the last 200 years. Some have been forgotten while others are still revered.
But quite likely, very few are still held with the immense esteem in which Christian mission schools are for providing free or affordable education to tens of thousands of children over the last century.
It is no exaggeration to say that without any regard to a child’s race, religion or creed, the 200-odd mission schools have left an indelible collective mark on the educational upbringing of many Malaysians, including numerous individuals who are today national leaders and prominent figures.
Ironically, the general state of these mission schools is today a far cry from what they were during their glory years. Beset with decaying facilities, indiscipline, and declining education and teaching standards, most of them are a pale reflection of how they operated in years past.
Recently, a group of concerned alumni of a La Salle school in Penang rang the alarm bell on this sorry state of affairs. Led by MIC Jalan P. Ramlee branch chairman Dr B. Anthony, the group wants to initiate a campaign to promote the revival of the quality and integrity of mission schools, which also include a string of convent schools.
Among the core concerns is that of financial support. Unlike national schools, mission schools throughout the country are today provided only partial funding by the federal government.
This is despite the fact that they have the exact same system and curricula as ordinary national schools. Furthermore, the teachers who operate there are also full civil servants appointed by the Education Ministry, as is the practice in all public schools.
This question of why mission schools are being marginalised in such a way when they are, for all intents and purposes, now operating just as normal public schools is one that is frequently raised by those concerned about the institutions.
In fact, the lack of funding is holding back mission schools from attaining facilities on par with most top public schools. This is a common affliction affecting most mission schools today.
There is however one significant aspect manifest in this shortcoming – the demonstration of devotion from the schools’ alumni. It is a fact that most of those who passed through the hallowed corridors of mission schools, nurtured during their most formative years in the aura of discipline and inspiration provided by the schools, have remained loyal to their alma mater.
Some time last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak himself reminisced about his years at the St John’s Institution in Kuala Lumpur when he officiated the opening of the Conference of Christian Mission Schools in Malaysia.
"The ethos of mission schools," he said, "shaped the values and beliefs of students which is in line with 1 Malaysia."
But the conditions of the schools today do not at all reflect their contributions and legacy to the history of the nation.
In 2007, a group of Christian leaders had proposed that a concerted effort be undertaken to revive the glory of mission schools. Except for the occasional rhetoric from politicians and those in power, there has not been any major progress reported since then.
Recently the Penang government gave some allocations to mission schools in the state to help ease their financial constraints.
Perhaps the major turning point for mission schools was the gradual disappearance of the reverend brothers and sisters who oversaw their education systems, particularly since independence, and more so after the 80s.
But the heart of the matter is that the schools now come under the ambit of the Education Ministry. It is up to the federal government to undertake any concrete initiative to help revive the standards and prestige of the schools, if there is any hope at all of them reclaiming their glory years. Sun2surf. (http://sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=52882)