Non-Chinese teachers must speak Mandarin

Sabah Dong Lian (SDL) - the Association of Sabah National Type Chinese Schools Management Committee - wants to stress that it is willing to accept non-Chinese teachers as long as they speak Mandarin.

The question of not accepting even Chinese-speaking non-Chinese teachers should not arise, said SDL chair Wong Yit Ming. He was worried that Chinese schools in Sabah will be labeled as extremists or racists if this public perception holds.

"We have never refused to accept bumiputera teachers who can speak Mandarin," he said. "One school has even had a Kadazan lady - Helen Matangkim of SJK (C) Cheng Ming, Papar - as the headmistress for the last ten years.

"Sabah Dong Lian has no problems in accepting anyone - Muslim, Kadazan, Dusun, Murut, Indian or others - he added, "as long as they can speak Mandarin."

He was giving his take on Sabah Education Director Muhiddin Yusin's statement that non-Chinese teachers were not welcome in Chinese schools.

This is an issue that has been simmering for several years. It worsened early this year when the 83 Chinese primary schools in the state were hit by an unprecedented shortage of 180 teachers.

Wong did not clarify whether Chinese-speaking non-Chinese teachers were accepted at the school level. Muhiddin had alleged that they were not and cited a few instances.

However, Wong said that if indeed these rejections had happened, then there had to be good reasons.

This is expected to further fuel suspicions at the SED that Chinese-speaking non-Chinese teachers are being rejected by Chinese schools in Sabah on the grounds of race if their teaching skills are not in question.

Neither did the SDL chair touch on non-Chinese speaking non-Chinese teachers being offered to the affected schools by the SED for subjects which are not taught in Mandarin.

Instead, he reiterated that the schools are quite firm in having only Mandarin-speaking teachers because that is the medium of instruction in SJK (C) schools.

He did not directly explain why it was necessary to have Chinese-speaking teachers for English, Bahasa Malaysia and other subjects which are not taught in Chinese.

"If the teachers cannot communicate in Mandarin, the learning process of pupils be affected," he claimed. "They are starting to learn languages at age six. We believe that learning the mother tongue is the most effective way to teach them."

Shortage cause by policies

The shortage of teachers in the schools, continued the SDL chair, was not caused by them but by the policies of the SED.

The SED's mistake, Wong pointed out, was to produce a surplus of teachers for national schools and then try to dump them on the Chinese schools in the state.

"Masidi Manjun ( right )- the education state minister  - was not very accurate by saying that the SED was sending us teachers but we continued to reject them," fumed Wong. "He's saying that there will be a continued shortage of teachers in Chinese schools and faults us for this state of affairs."

At the same time, the Gaya and Kent Colleges in the state were sending their graduate teachers - Chinese-speaking Chinese- to other states instead of giving priority to Sabah, the SDL chair noted. "The SED keeps changing its policies all the time."

Wong also raised the issue of many young Chinese knocking on the doors of the SED every year to be teachers.

Apparently, many of them were  rejected outright with no explanation whatsoever.

The situation was further compounded by the refusal of the SED to allow the affected schools to recruit temporary Chinese-speaking teachers. As a result, many of the better-funded Chinese schools employed them at their own expense.

Change in character

Meanwhile, LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) Secretary-General Teo Chee Kang reiterated his warning that sending non-Chinese speaking teachers to Chinese schools "would change the character and identity of the schools and this is completely unacceptable".

He implied that only Chinese-speaking teachers would be acceptable to Chinese schools even for subjects which were not taught in Mandarin.

Race is not an issue, he clarified, "as long as the teacher concerned can speak Chinese."

He wants the SED to organise a conference with the schools to thrash out the issue. The Tanjung Kapor state assemblyperson added that the Chinese schools knew "what is best for them."

MCA State Liaison Chief Edward Khoo, an assistant minister in the chief minister's department, declared that his party is against the SED's policy of sending non-Chinese speaking teachers to Chinese schools.

"All along the Chinese schools have stated their stand on this matter and we support them," said Khoo. "There will be a problem of communication if Chinese schools accept non-Chinese speaking teachers."

He vowed to raise the issue with Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong. The problem, he elaborated, "was about those who could not read or write Chinese but were being sent to teach in Chinese schools".