The Selangor education department has issued letters to some 30 primary schools urging parents to transfer their children to the controversial USJ 15 vision school which will start operating on April 1.

In a letter dated Jan 31, headmasters of primary schools in the vicinity of USJ were asked to inform parents about the opening and to collect applications from those who wish to transfer their children to SK/ SJK(C)/ SJK(T) USJ 15".

However, it was not stated in the letter that the three schools comprise the USJ15 vision school, said a Chinese education lobbyist who requested anonymity.

A group of concerned residents of Subang Jaya and USJ has been calling for the conversion of the USJ 15 vision school complex into a full Chinese primary school to address the shortage of Chinese schools in the area.

The residents were also unhappy with the governments actions in delaying the construction of a new school building for a Chinese primary school — SJK(C) Chee Wen — but instead, built the large vision school complex in 10 months.

Another letter dated Feb 4 was issued to parents, stating Feb 20 as the deadline for applications.

Those identified as eligible are primary one to three pupils currently studying in some 30 schools within the Subang Jaya/USJ area as well as those in Puchong and Shah Alam.

Although letters were not issued to parents of pupils studying in SJK(C) Lick Hung in Subang Jaya and SJK(C) Chee Wen, which is now sharing five classrooms with another Subang Jaya school, the pupils were informed of the openings.

The announcement by the Selangor education ministry put to rest speculation on the opening date of the school which was initially said to start enrolment this month.

Call to boycott

In response to this, Chinese education lobby groups issued a press statement today calling for parents to boycott the vision school.

In a joint statement, the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia and the United Chinese School Teachers Association of Malaysia, collectively known as Dong Jiao Zong, urged local residents not to enrol their children as the school cannot operate autonomously.

It is instead the product of a transitional period, said the statement in reference to the Chinese education lobby groups view that the governments aim in introducing the vision school concept is to bring about the termination of vernacular education in the country.

We maintain our stand that the vision school concept is aimed at assimilation of all schools of different teaching media into a monolingual education system which uses Bahasa Malaysia as its medium of instruction, said Dong Jiao Zong.

According to Dong Jiao Zong, the Chinese community is opposed to the vision school proposal as it masks the governments intention, as declared in the 1956 Razak Report, to eliminate mother tongue education eventually from the national education system.

It does not help if the Barisan Nasional parties continue to overlook this fact and try to avoid the real problem (of the communities concerns). It is public knowledge that the government has long ignored the request by the Chinese community to build more Chinese schools, said the statement.

Reluctance to build vernacular schools

The statement also said that the dissatisfaction among the Chinese and Indian communities is understandable in view of the governments reluctance to build more vernacular schools to address the shortage problem.

Instead, said Dong Jiao Zong, the government has promoted vision schools on the pretext that they promote national unity and racial integration.

The organisation also expressed hope that the new vision school committee proposed by the Education Ministry will take into consideration the wishes of the Chinese and Indian Malaysians and abort the project altogether.

In a Jan 26 report in Chinese daily Nanyang Siang Pau , the Education Ministry announced that it had set up a committee to study the concept and implementation of vision schools.

Yesterday, Deputy Education Minister Abdul Aziz Samsuddin said his ministry may be seeking a meeting with several Chinese education movements, including Dong Jiao Zong, to explain the concept.

Today, however, another Chinese daily, Sin Chew Jit Poh , quoted Education Minister Musa Mohamad as denying any plans to meet with Dong Jiao Zong.

The minister reportedly said that the first vision school in the country is now operating in Perak. A Tamil school has started classes and a national school is expected to open in the near future. However, Musa said the vision school will not incorporate a Chinese primary school.

The vision school is a proposal by the government to place primary schools of different languages under one roof to promote racial integration.

However, vernacular education lobby groups have strongly protested the move which is seen as encroaching on minority groups rights to mother tongue education.