THE Malaysian Chinese Language Council (MCLC) wishes to share that Chinese education organisations and the Chinese community are very serious about upgrading the standard of Malay language proficiency in Chinese primary schools (SJKC).
Compared to the 1970s and 1980s, the command of the language by SJKC pupils has improved. In the 70s and 80s, the passing rate for the Malay language subject in SJKC was about 45%. Now, 85% to 90% of pupils are able to pass the Malay language examination in schools.
Although the passing rate has shown significant improvement, the council is looking forward to witnessing a pass for every SJKC pupil in the Malay Language paper where the majority of pupils are able to score Bs and even As.
Since 2017, the council has set up a working committee to work on upgrading the standard of Malay language proficiency in SJKC. Malay scholars, teachers and representatives of the Chinese education organisations are in the working committee.
In the last few years, the working committee has organised many seminars, activities and workshops for teachers and pupils to strengthen their command of the Malay language.
This year, the council will be organising a workshop for SJKC teachers who are teaching the Malay language at lower primary levels to upgrade their standard of teaching, in order to better enhance pupils’ communication and oral skills.
We will also be organising a training session for Malay language teachers in SJKC in Kuala Lumpur next month.
Also in the pipeline are plans to work with education organisations and state education departments to promote the training session nationwide, as a good command of the Malay language is important for SJKC pupils if they are to excel at the secondary school level, where the medium of instruction is Malay.
The Chinese community and parents who send their children to SJKC are serious about the learning of Malay and they care about their children’s command of the language. Hence, the council is assisting the teachers to upgrade their skills and improve the quality of education in SJKC.
DATUK EDDIE HENG
President
MCLC
