Education of Malay Immigrants

Source 1: A description about Malay schools in Singapore under the British during the 19th century.

The first formal Malay class was started in August 1834 at the Singapore Free School with an initial cohort of 12 Malay boys. The school’s Malay department eventually closed down in 1842 due to a lack of interest and some prejudice among the Malays towards foreign teachers. Following the department’s closure, little was done by the colonial authorities to promote Malay education until 1856 when two Malay day schools were established at Telok Blangah and Kampong Glam.

In 1872, A. M. Skinner was made Inspector of Schools of the Straits Settlements (which Singapore was then a part of, along with Malacca and Penang). Although Skinner considered Malay schools as subsidiaries of English schools, he nevertheless saw the need to expand Malay education. Skinner established the Malay High School at Telok Blangah in 1876. However, the high school project did not last long because the colonial government subsequently converted the school into the Malay Teachers’ College in 1878 to meet the growing demand for Malay teachers. This college produced the first formally trained Malay teachers in Singapore and Malaya.

In 1893, the Isemonger Committee, led by then colonial treasurer E. E. Isemonger, was formed to examine the system of Malay schools in the Straits Settlements. The committee’s report noted that the number of Malay schools had increased from 16 in 1872 to 189 in 1892. Despite the growth in numbers, 22 Malay schools and the Malay Teachers’ College closed down in 1895 due to low student enrolment.

When R. O. Winstedt became the assistant director of education of the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States in 1916, he made substantial changes to the Malay school curriculum. Under the new curriculum, arts and craft were given more prominence. Accordingly, subjects such as gardening, sewing and basketry were introduced to cater to the needs of the rural communities in the Malay states.17 In 1919, the government allowed Malay boys in Singapore who had passed Standard III (Primary Three) to transfer to English schools.

Reference:

Ho, S. (2016). Vernacular education. Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board. Retrieved from https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2016-10-03_094744.html#:~:text=In%20the%20early%2019th%20century,classes%20and%20Chinese%20writing%20schools.&text=This%20school%20was%20to%20consist,these%20classes%20were%20short%2Dlived.

Source 2: An extract of the establishment of Malay Vernacular Girls Schools during the 19th century Singapore.

Malay girls’ schools were only founded in 1884, as there were difficulties to overcome in the establishment of such schools. In 1901, no more than 2 per cent of Malay girls were enrolled in Malay vernacular girls’ schools in the Straits Settlements. The rapid expansion of Malay vernacular schools in the 19th century was mainly confined to boys’ schools.

It is likely that the shortage of Malay school books resulted in the Government’s purchase of two Malay vernacular newspapers, the Jawi Peranakan (1876) and Sekolah Melayu (1895) to be used as reading materials in the Government Malay schools.

It was not until 1885 that Malay school book printing and publishing resumed with the setting up of the Government Malay Press. This was normally regarded as part of the Government Printing Office, and the books printed on this press bore the Government Press imprint. In 1888, the firm Kelly & Walsh was appointed “to sell all books required in the schools.  By 1893, Kelly & Walsh supplied books not only to the growing number of pupils and schools in the Straits Settlements, but also to those of the Malay States, Johore, Muar, Borneo and Sarawak.

Reference:

Lim, P. H. (2009). Singapore, an emerging centre of 19th century Malay school book printing and publishing in the Straits Settlements, 1819-1899: Identifying the four phases of development. BiblioAsia, 4(4), 4-11, National Library Board, Singapore. Retrieved from https://repository.nie.edu.sg/bitstream/10497/16670/1/BiblioAsia-4-4-4.pdf

Source 3: A description of the Malay education under the British rule in 1824.

Singapore’s colonial educational history is characterized by ‘benign neglect, ad hoc policy making and indifference to consequences’. The educational goal then is not for social progress, but to make the social structure more efficient.

The British government funded Malay education and encouraged it by providing it for free. The British felt that the young Malay children should spend more time learning their own mother tongue and thus did not teach English. Malay Education centered on the teaching of fishing skills so as to improve the fishery in Singapore.

English schools opened to all children on fee-paying basis and were supported by private enterprises and the government alike. The British government eventually started to manage and finance some schools.

Reference:

Chao, B. (2007 – 2020). Education in Singapore – Colonial Era. Timetoast. Retrieved from https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/education-in-singapore-colonial-era

Source 4: A letter from Eunos Abdullah to The Straits Times, 7 November 1924.

At the Legislative Council meetings in 1924, Eunos Abdullah made an impassioned call for Malay children to start learning English at an earlier age. He felt that this would counter the handicap they faced in transiting from vernacular to English education. However, acting Director of Education Dr R. O. Winstedt insisted that “the only way to give a boy a beneficial education in English is first of all to ground him in his own vernacular, and give him a language in which he can think”.

Reference:

National Museum of Singapore. (Year unknown). Education of the Malays. Retrieved from https://www.nhb.gov.sg/-/media/nhb/images/nhb2017/what-we-do/education/activity-sheets/nms/ActivitySheet_Teachers-HI-Resource-Unit-2-Colonial-Singapore.pdf

Source 5: A description about Malay schools and printing of Malay books under the British rule during the 19th century.

The first Inspector of Schools was appointed in 1872, and he considerably extended secular government Malay boys’ schools in the Straits Settlements. By 1901 about 21% of Malay boys aged 15 and under attended Malay schools. The first government Malay girls’ school was established in 1884, but by 1901 no more than 2% of Malay girls aged 15 and under were enrolled in Malay schools. At that time there were 141 boys’ schools and 28 girls’ schools in the Straits Settlements.

Keasberry was the first official translator and printer of Malay school books. In 1856 the Temenggong of Johore and the government each contributed an annual grant of $1,500 to support Keasberry’s Malay school institute, which taught Malay boys and girls the Malay and English languages, printing, lithography, book-binding, embroidery, and sewing.

Keasberry’s innovative printing work was one of the turning points in the history of Malay literacy. First, it was the first local demonstration of the potential of lithography. This printing technology had immense implications for the MalayMuslim commercial press. Second, his books continued to influence the content and style of written Malay through the government Malay schools.

Reference:

Lim, P. H. (2008). Elementary Malay vernacular schools and school libraries in Singapore under British colonial rule, 1819-1941. School Libraries Worldwide, 14(1), 72-85. International Association of School Librarianship. Retrieved from https://repository.nie.edu.sg/bitstream/10497/17843/1/SLW-14-1-72.pdf

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