Malaysia’s Chinese schools adapt to continue attracting more students from other ethnic backgrounds

KUALA LUMPUR – Over the past 20 years, educator Lwi Kian Keong has witnessed a significant change in the demographics of Chio Chiao Chinese Primary School in his hometown south of the Malaysian capital.

In 2004, 80% of the students at this rural Chinese school in Sepang, a township in the state of Selangor 70 km from Kuala Lumpur, were Chinese. Today, 80% of them are Malay.

A similar story is repeated in Chinese schools across Malaysia, with increasing numbers of non-Chinese enrollments, particularly from the Malay community, despite Mandarin being the primary medium of instruction.

According to figures from the Malaysian Ministry of Education, the number of Bumiputeras enrolled in the country’s 1,299 Chinese primary schools reached 18.52 percent in 2024, nearly double from 9.5 percent in 2010. Bumiputera refers to the Malays and indigenous ethnic groups of Sabah and Sarawak.

Ethnic Indians in these Chinese-medium primary schools reached 2.75% of the total student population in 2020, up from 1.67% a decade ago, the figures showed.

In Malaysia, primary education consists of national and vernacular schools. Malay is the medium of instruction in national schools, while vernacular schools teach and communicate in Mandarin or Tamil. Both schools follow the same curriculum, except for language subjects.

After completing primary school, students can enter China’s 82 public secondary schools (also known as SMJKs), China’s 63 independent high schools, or national secondary schools. They can then enter China’s three community colleges, private universities, or public universities if they meet local requirements.

The significant demographic shift has led Chinese schools to seek ways to accommodate new students and their parents, while ensuring that the schools’ ethnic identity, values ​​and culture remain intact.

Mr Lwi, chairman of the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) of Chio Chiao School, said the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) meetings are now conducted bilingually, in Mandarin and Malay, to cater to parents who do not speak Mandarin.

“We are holding the festival in a school hall and avoiding displaying brewery logos on billboards and our T-shirts. We want to be considerate of the sentiments of Malaysian parents,” Mr Lwi, Selangor state MP for Sungai Pelek in Sepang, told The Straits Times (ST) on July 23.

Other changes include the PTA requiring all school fair vendors to offer a range of foods that can be enjoyed by all races instead of limiting them to a particular ethnic group, he added.

“This helps ensure that all parents, regardless of ethnicity, can share food together.”

In keeping with inclusivity, Chinese schools offer halal dining options in canteens for Muslim students and staff, who are free to wear the tudung – a headscarf that is an important part of Muslim women’s dress code – and many have also set aside a room for Muslim students who wish to perform their daily prayers.

Making adjustments for Malay-Muslim students is also seen as a sign of caution towards Malaysia’s majority ethnic group, and as a way to avoid provoking some opposition parties that are always ready to pounce on any perceived slight.

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