The Sun Sets: How Jit Sin's Book Throwing Marks the End of an Era

Not too many hours ago, a hot topic began circulating on social media regarding a disciplinary case of a top-ranked school in Malaysia. Apparently, the school authorities had decided to take action against students that left their books in desks after the end of class due to the heavy timetable, which was against school regulations. This in itself came as no surprise; what was far more shocking was the way they decided to go about it - the books were collected and thrown into a heap in front of the school. Students were given an ultimatum: collect the books and receive 6 demerit points (nearly one-third required for expulsion) or not collect them and risk getting caught through the names on the books, which would then result in double the demerit points. To make the situation even more humiliating for the students, the teachers reportedly took the opportunity to take photos of the students while verbally insulting them.

The school in question is Jit Sin High School (JSHS), Bukit Mertajam, also known as SKK Jit Sin. My alma mater. In fact, the alma mater of the entire Suburban KID team. As such, though this post is written in my own personal capacity, it's needless to say that we're all concerned about it. While our school has shown itself to be capable of making bone-headed decisions at times, never did we think that such a proud and prestigious institution would resort to such barbaric methods of 'educating' students, methods which I suspect are more effective in sending the wrong message more than any sort of discipline.

However, this is but one new milestone in the long decline in JSHS, and the vernacular Chinese education system in Malaysia as a whole. Despite its long history, it now suffers the threat of becoming one of the most outdated educational systems in the region, and maybe even the world. This opinion piece is intended to show, through my own eyes as a student that has gone through the grinder, why this is the case.

The role of Chinese education in Malaysia goes a long way back, starting and flourishing under the British colonial rule of Malaya. Due to the colonial government's divide-and-conquer methods of controlling the populace, education in Malaya was segregated by race, and continues to be segregated till this day. Meanwhile, Chinese schools, both at the primary and secondary level, have enjoyed the support of Chinese parents and to an extent parents from other racial communities, largely due to their academic excellence and strong discipline, even though a large number are now semi-national schools and fall under the purview of the federal government.

While their performance in education continues to be strong overall, recently the disciplinary policies of Chinese schools, particularly those in my home state of Penang, have become increasingly questionable. Mind you, Chinese schools have always had the reputation of being "strict", so when something is out of the norm even for ex-students it means that it really, really is out of the norm.

I first got a taste of this when I was in Form 3 (2011). At the start of the year, the school announced that they would soon require male students to sport crewcut hairstyles. No reason or rationale was given, or at least none that really explained why a crewcut in particular was needed as opposed to our already strict hair limitations. I was rather enraged by this rather dictatorial requirement and proceeded to write a letter to The Star. It was published under anonymity (not my request), and was noticed by the principal but only to be swatted away as being "petty and irresponsible".

Several months later, my brother's primary school announced they would adopt the same ruling. And another did. And yet another did.

One look at that case and the many unlisted bone-headed decisions that occurred afterwards in my school and others makes it seem that, somewhere along the way, these schools have lost sight of what discipline is all about in the first place - creating a healthy school environment where students can receive education in peace. What has happened appears to be the slow but steady descent into iron-fist control, spearheaded by traditionalist educators desperate to cling on to this "culture" they claim to preserve, further worsened by the "sit back, don't fight" stance parents seem to always take in any issue.

What culture? No one really knows. It's always harped about in these schools: maintaining "traditional values", blocking out "bad modern/Western/ influence", yada yada. It's bullshit, plain and simple. It's an attempt to give relevance to this horribly outdated form of educating students through fear and coercion; it's a form of delusion that they can cocoon themselves and the students from the outside world, a world that is actually real and will be necessary for these students to enter after graduation. They claim to follow China's education system, a claim that once upon a time was true, but is no longer. Even China, a country often called conservative (at best), cannot match them in the primitiveness of student discipline. 

There have been parties that have called for silence. They fear that by airing the school's dirty laundry, its reputation will be tarnished beyond repair and as students or ex-students, we have a responsibility to protect the name of our school. I couldn't disagree more. That's what many families with rape victims in India (and elsewhere) did. That's what Malaysia, as a whole, used to do, at least before the big wave of March 8. They sacrificed justice and accountability for the sake of protecting reputation and preserving face. And it has never brought a happy ending.

I have said this already, and I say it again: I call on the government to perform a proper, accountable investigation into the issue, not some half-arsed effort where they only ask teachers, and take action against the administration of the school for this inexcusable behaviour. I call on parents with children studying in JSHS to loudly voice your concerns over these despicable actions, be it through letters to the school, the media, your local political representatives, or any other form of awareness. Finally, I ask my fellow ex-JSHS comrades to not let this issue slide away. We love our school and we shall not allow it to slip into mediocrity due to the actions of a few.

As you have already guessed, I am not in favour of the Chinese education system currently in place in Malaysia. However, it has its merits, and I'm not going to call for its death, at least not today. What I want, all I want, is a good environment for students nationwide, especially those still learning in the school I once belonged to. To do that, it's time to speak up. It's time to right the wrong and show those with authority that they will not get away with anything and everything. It's time for the truth and justice to prevail.



Picture sourced from: http://cforum.cari.com.my/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=3330427&extra=page%3D1