Decolonization, educational language policy and nation building in plural societies: The development of Chinese education in Malaysia, 1950–1970

The two decades from 1950 to 1970 were a crucial period of educational reorganization in Malaysia that stemmed from the decolonization after the Second World War. This educational reorganization sought to address the perennial issue of nation building via educational language policy. The development of Chinese education was under severe threat as the British colonial government opted for a national school system that used English and Malay as the media of instruction in place of the segregated vernacular school system that had existed during the colonial period. Much to the relief of the Chinese, the national school system failed to materialize due to the lack of financial resources to reorganize the entire educational system. But the Chinese were unable to maintain the Chinese school system within the ambit of the national educational system advocated by the postcolonial Alliance government. The Alliance government had only allowed the Chinese to undergo Chinese education at the primary level. At the secondary level, it opted for a monolingual system of education based on Malay as the main medium of instruction in order to foster national integration through a common language. The Chinese had to switch to this medium of instruction if they wanted to remain in mainstream education. Such a system of transitional bilingual education was aimed at incorporating the Chinese into the nation building process.

► Chinese education was under threat as the British opted for a national school system teaching in English and Malay following decolonization.
► The national school system failed to take off due to budgetary constraints.
► The Chinese were unable to maintain the Chinese school system in the postcolonial period.
► The postcolonial government had only allowed Chinese education at the primary level.
► Malay was imposed as the common language medium at the secondary level to foster national integration.