Report of the All-Party Committee on Chinese education



Article

The Report of the All-Party Committee of the Singapore Legislative Assembly on Chinese Education was a study initiated by the Singapore government to review the education system in Chinese schools in light of their students’ involvement in the Hock Lee bus riot that occurred on 12 May 1955.[1] The study aimed to “make recommendations for the improvement and strengthening of Chinese education in the interests of Chinese culture and orderly progress towards self-government and ultimate independence”.[2]

The nine-member all-party committee was officially appointed on 25 May 1955 comprising: then Minister for Education Chew Swee Kee (Labour Front), then Minister for Labour Lim Yew Hock (Labour Front), then Minister for Local Government Abdul Hamid bin Haji Jumat (Alliance), Richard Chuan Hoe Lim (Labour Front), Wong Foo Nam (Alliance), Goh Tong Liang (Progressive), Lim Cher Kheng (Democrat), Lee Kuan Yew (People’s Action Party) and an independent, M. P. D. Nair.[3]

Public feedback on Chinese school-education  was sought by the committee; a total of 87 submissions were received from organisations and individuals. The committee deliberated on the submissions, and also conducted school visits and interviews with teaching staff and educationists between June 1955 and January 1956.[4] The committee’s report was released on 7 February 1956.[5]

Key recommendations drawn up by the committee include:
(a) establishing an educational advisory council to ensure that all schools would be given equal treatment and adequate representation in a new education ordinance;
(b) the “Malayanisation” of all textbooks used in both English and vernacular schools;
(c) promoting bilingualism or trilingualism based on the four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil;
(d) teaching civics as part of the school curriculum;
(e) prohibiting students from participating in party politics, trade and industrial disputes;
(f) providing students with opportunities for higher education in vernacular schools, with emphasis on utilising their skills, training and abilities; and
(g) extending government grants to all vernacular schools.[6]

The report emphasised equal treatment of the various ethnic groups in multiracial Singapore, with the government providing guidance and advice to help the groups understand and accept different cultures. It was envisaged that the ethnic groups would eventually integrate and create a unique Malayan culture. This underlying principle, along with the report’s main recommendations, formed the basis for the government’s White Paper on Education Policy, which was passed by the Legislative Assembly on 12 April 1956.[7]

References
1. Big probe on schools. (1955, May 19). The Straits Times, p. 1; All-Party probe: Chew asks approval. (1955, May 24). The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
2. Chew, S. K. (1956). Report of the All-Party Committee of the Singapore Legislative Assembly on Chinese education (p. 1). Singapore: Govt. Printer. Call no.: RCLOS 371.9795105957 SIN.
3. Good news, says principal. (1955, May 21). The Straits Times, p. 2. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Chew, 1956, pp. 2, 51.
4. Chew, 1956, pp. 1–2.
5. Chinese schools. (1956, February 8). The Straits Times, p. 9. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
6. Chew, 1956, pp. 47–50.
7. Singapore. Legislative Assembly. Debates: Official Report. (1956, April 12). Education policy (White Paper) (Vol. 1, cols. 1899–1900). Singapore: [s.n.]. Call no.: RCLOS 328.5957 SIN; Singapore. Legislative Assembly. (1956). White paper on education policy. Singapore: Legislative Assembly. Call no.: RCLOS 370.95951 SIN.


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The information in this article is valid as at March 2015 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.