A system to build vernicular schools needed

Malaysiakini carred a piece of good news 2 days ago about the government approval for 6 new chinese primary schools and relocation of 13 other chinese schools to urban areas.

This is a very piece of good news. Even if this is considered ‘election goodies’, I still think that it is a beneficial move that will alleviate the demand for places in such schools.

Ask anyone staying in urban areas and they will tell you the difficulty of getting a place in a chinese primary school for their children. Unless you stay right next to a Chinese school, chances are you may have to dish out a donation of sort to get a place . Most parents will of course willingly dish out the donation, as the Chinese has always regarded education as something that no parents should be stingy about. Even if they have to pawn thier trousers, they will by hook or by crook get their children into one of these schools.

I sent all my children to Chinese primary schools because I consider the learning of mother tongue as somethng very important. And glad to say all my children have done well, in no small part due to the good foundation that they were given in the Chinese Primary school that I sent them too.

They learned to be  conscientiously hardworking and of course very good in mathematics. It is often said that if you are good in mathematics, you will be good in other subjects because Maths is all about logic, and logic is the foundation of all knowledge.. The system also teaches them to be humble and  courteous. In short, if I were to start my life all over again,  I would not hesitate to send  them to Chinese primary schools again.

These 19 schools (6+13) will help to solve some of the congestion problems in Chinese Schools. A typical Chinese school now is so congested that whatever piece of empty land that the school possesses would have already been used to build classrooms for the schools, so much so most of the playgrounds become so small that it is hardly enough for the  proper use for sports.

While welcoming the approval of these schools to be set up or relocated, I think the government should come up with a long term solution to solve the congestions that many urban parents are facing.

There must be a systematic way to identify the needs to build more new schools, vernicular or otherwise,  especially in new growth areas. After identifying the needs, there should be allocations for land and finances to build schools.

After all, schools produce precious human capital that will one day become the moving force in all fields of the nation.

my alma mater has produced thousands and thousands of useful citizens that have contributed much in all fields of humanity not only to Malaysia but the whole world.

Without these precious human capital, a nation cannot expect to excel and uplift the standard of living of the people.

 P.S. Oops. I have almost forgotten to mention about SRJK Damansara. Perhaps this is the time to reopen the school. Whatever politics involved, we should forget it and just open it for the benefits of people staying in Section 17 and surounding areas of Petaling Jaya.