Earlier this week MIC president S Samy Vellu proudly said that the government has approved the allocation of RM13.9 million for 13 Tamil schools throughout the country. However, there are conflicting reports as to how the money will be channelled to the advantage of these schools.
Some reports quoted Samy Vellu as stating that the money will be used to build 13 new schools while others state that the money is only for upgrading the existing schools.
The second option sounded more reasonable as it will be very difficult to construct 13 schools with the limited budget. A little over a million ringgit for a new school is definitely not feasible. And looking at the list of 'new' schools, most of the schools that are to be built are already in existence.
Schools like Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (Tamil) Segambut, Kuala Lumpur; SJK (T) Sungai Renggam, Selangor and SJK (T) Rantau, Negri Sembilan are already in place and have a significant number of students.
"There is no need to build new schools at these places. They are already there. What is needed is to upgrade them," said a retired Tamil school headmaster.
Conditions disgraceful
A former student at the Segambut Tamil school lamented at the condition of his alma mater , adding that it was a disgrace to have a school akin to a shed in the city.
"There were talks for a long time now that this school will be relocated to another spot. Maybe then it could be construed as building a 'new' school. But the question remains as to what could be achieved by building a school with a budget of RM1 million," added the student who is now a Tamil school teacher.
Generally, conditions of most of the Tamil schools in Malaysia are embarrassing for a country which has first-class buildings in its midst. Some schools still do not have proper classrooms, canteens and toilets. There is also a shortage of basic equipment needed to conduct lessons.
Samy Vellu was also reported as saying that for the survival of Tamil schools in Malaysia, the MIC has taken steps to upgrade the infrastructure, quality and administration as well as the teaching and learning methods of Tamil schools.
The retired head agreed with Samy Vellu, but added that the Works Minister must ensure that petty party politics are kept out of the schools in the interest of the students.
"Right now, Tamil schools are fighting a battle with local politicians who are more keen on gaining political mileage rather than doing something for the schools," added the ex-headmaster.
Lack of funding
It is true that in certain estates and rural areas, rival Indian-based political parties like MIC, IPF (Indian Progressive Front) and the PPP (People's Progressive Party) tend to engage in a race to out-do the other by promising to provide support for the schools. This usually leaves the school in a quandary as once a school is labelled as being supported by one party, then it cannot expect any future assistance from the other parties.
While some fault may lie in the schools for allowing themselves to be manipulated and used by the political parties, one must remember that Tamil schools need to reach out on their own for funding.
This is because by law, Tamil schools that are not located on government land are not entitled to receive full financial assistance from the government. To make matters worse, most of the schools are not on government land but on private land.
Maybe the first thing Samy Vellu and MIC should do is to ensure that all Tamil schools receive full funding from the government. Samy Vellu said that MIC will propose to the government to take over the private land on which most of the Tamil schools are located at present.
Samy Vellu and MIC must show their seriousness over the matter to the government when asking it to convert the status of Tamil schools. This is very important as it is the single factor which dictates the level of financial support the schools receive.
Once full grants are made available to the Tamil schools, all other things will fall into place. There will be better infrastructure as well as a renewed hope amongst the parents to contribute to the upgrading of Tamil schools in both academic and non-academic matters.
Insufficient to even refurbish
Thus, with these prevalent issues still floating, the RM13.9 million to build or upgrade 13 of the 528 Tamil schools is just not sufficient.
Professor P Ramasamy of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia is of the opinion that the amount is not even sufficient to address the physical problems of Tamil schools throughout the country.
The professor of political economy at the Political Science Department suggested that a major allocation was needed not only for improving the present state of Tamil schools but also to build new ones in urban areas, given the rural to urban drift amongst the Indians.
At the moment, the divide between Tamil schools that receive full government funds, which are of the minority group, and those that don't is wide. This divide does not help in providing better education to the Indian students in the schools that receive less financial support.
It is important to have the Tamil schools on a level playing field first before even considering to make them "reputable institutions to produce top-class students".
Political influence
Samy Vellu has got the concept right but what is important is the real work that needs to be done.
For starters, he, being the sole voice of the Indian community in the government, should push the government to give the same benefits it provides to other primary schools to all Tamil schools.
This surely will not be difficult to do as it was also reported recently that the government spent about RM1.5 million on each student who is pursuing a doctorate abroad. Seen in comparison, RM13.9 million for 13 schools looks minuscule, and it does show that the government has the money to spend on education.
It's now up to Samy Vellu to use his political influence in the government to ensure that these schools are not left behind in this new century.
K KABILAN is malaysiakini 's chief reporter.
