THE Education Ministry’s guideline on the teaching of Jawi script in vernacular schools has them concerned, said Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) youth chief Michael Tiang.

“They are not against the teaching of Jawi per se and it has nothing to do with the fears of creeping of Islamisation in schools, he told The Malaysian Insight.

He said the most contentious clause is that if 51% of parents agreed with the teaching of Jawi, then the school concerned has to teach it.

He added it leaves important decisions at the hands of parents and not in the school board.

“The ministry has ignored and bypassed the views of the Chinese school boards.”

Tiang said the schools now fear the parents can set in stone the policy on Jawi because the guideline also states the same Standard 4 pupils will have to continue learning the subject in the next two years.

“The boards are concerned that the introduction of Jawi into the syllabus may create an opening to change the vernacular nature of these schools.”

Tiang said some educationists and parents have viewed the issue as “leading vernacular schools to the road of no return”.

“The Chinese schools are not alone in this matter as the Tamil schools share the same concerns.”

Former education minister Maszlee Malik said on Thursday that the hue and cry over the teaching of Jawi in vernacular schools and among non-Muslim pupils in government schools this year as one of the reasons why he is resigning the ministerial post after 20 months.

He said the decision to teach the Jawi script had put the government in crisis.

In August, 12 Chinese associations in the peninsular, led by prominent Chinese educationist groups United Chinese School Teachers’ Association and United Chinese School Committees’ Association, said the Jawi script would not help pupils improve their Malay language skills.

The associations said they support the promotion of multicultural values in vernacular schools, but such moves should not alter the schools’ special characteristics. – January 5, 2020.