Transformation of Vernacular and Particularised Education towards Integration into “Malaysian Education”: An Overview

This chapter discusses about transformation of Vernacular and Particularised Education towards Integration into “Malaysian Education”. To address the primary study concerns, the prevailing, divided education system is discussed, with a focus on mother-tongue vernacular education as well as other sub-set educational institutions like religious and "one-race" schools. Over decades, these have unavoidably added to social unrest. It is discovered that educators place a high focus on the national language and English's inclusion in the school curriculum, as well as on the transformation and integration—rather than the elimination of these educational subsets—into mainstream education. This can help evolve Malaysian education into a globally reputed education system. Educationists are also of the view that it can be then an effective bonding tool for national unity. The colonial education system from the early twentieth century onwards had not attempted sufficiently comprehensively the process of a bonding national socialization, towards a Malayan nationhood (thenceforth flowing onwards to a Malaysian consciousness of a one nation), because the diverse communities were essentially schooled separately in Malay and vernacular schools. This was also very much structured as such owing to the geographically separated and alie- nated living conditions of the society. The national education concept permits the teaching of language, religion, and literature in the home tongue languages. In-depth one-to-one interviews of higher primary school learners, were found to have sparse knowledge in the Malay- national language and English, in topical knowledge areas in Science, Moral Education, common knowledge concepts, and common civility greetings. The cultivation and inculcation of nationhood values directed towards the deepening of the sense of belonging and solidarity in Malaysian youth and society, contributing to the evolution of the Malaysian identity, needs to be assuredly the daily working call of these education institutions.