for GLOBELICS 2009, Senegal
by
Dr. Ratna Malar Selvaratnam, Sannyasin Guhanathaswami & Alagappa Nagappan
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Abstract
This paper seeks to document the creation of a novel solution to Malaysia’s increasingly strained and discriminatory education system. The author will discuss AmanBumi, one of the first social innovations incubators in Malaysia, and its work with Sadhana Visionary Academy (SVA). AmanBumi is an incubator for social innovations that nurtures community scale economies to sustain the Asia-Pacific region. AmanBumi inspires and educates social innovators, with a special focus on youth, in providing knowledge and ideas that strengthen the capacity of current and future leaders to champion social change namely through awareness creation, capacity building and seed funding. SVA provides quality international education for disadvantaged children in the country, mainly targeting the marginalized Malaysian-Indian population.
SVA is a social innovation, as through the practical exploitation of new ideas, it is establishing a new venture to deliver goods and services not currently supplied by the existing market. The SVA curriculum is only made possible through technological collaboration and creation through the internet. The strategies are already in place for SVA’s implementation with its proposed intake in January 2010. With regards to academic affiliation, the American home schooling curriculum was found to be the most suitable curriculum for SVA. American home schooling was evaluated as the most suitable in terms of ease of setup and implementation, flexibility of curriculum, values development within the curriculum and cost efficiency. Home schooling is a relatively understated phenomenon in Malaysia. The Education Ministry does not provide guidelines for home schooling, thus this allows SVA to use this platform to implement its own learning system without legal and political interference.
In a pilot assessment, a diagnostics test was administered by SVA to assess preliminarily the level of compatibility of twelve possible candidates for the program. The test was administered in March 2009, approximately six months before the pupils Year 6 UPSR exams, which is the national standard for graduation from primary school. SVA only administered the Math test and found that their current level of comprehension of content is equivalent to Grade 4 of the Alpha Omega program. Majority of the students could answer straight forward questions presented in numerical equations, but struggled when the questions was presented in sentence form. Hence it can be concluded that it is more a language weakness than a skill weakness that SVA needs to address. Further preliminary diagnostics in English and Science will be conducted in April 2009. The final set of diagnostics comprising all the three subjects will be administered in September 2009. The results of these final assessments and that of the national Year 6 examinations will be used to select the pupils for SVA’s inaugural intake. Ultimately, the long term plan for SVA is for it to be self-sustaining by creating a commercial arm open to all, which will support its fully-funded model. As most experimentation happens with hybrid non-profit ventures as envisioned, there is much potential for the scope of SVA to serve more communities in the nation, and the region.
This is only a body I possess
a body that bears a heart
weighted by its necessity, lost
in such a time and place
among a people who, when they came,
already had their demons
die the sterile deaths of gods:
so too their legendary kings.
This branch of cut lime
hung by my amah by the door
dangles therefore lightly in the breeze.
Wong Phui Nam
From ‘How the Hills are Distant’
Introduction
This paper seeks to document the creation of a novel solution to Malaysia’s increasingly strained and discriminatory education system. The author will discuss AmanBumi, one of the first social innovations incubators in Malaysia, and its work with Sadhana Visionary Academy. SVA provides quality international education for disadvantaged children in the country, mainly targeting the marginalized Malaysian-Indian population. To paraphrase Elkington and Hartigan (2008), SVA is a social innovation, as through the practical exploitation of new ideas, it is establishing a new venture to deliver goods and services not currently supplied by the existing market.
AmanBumi
AmanBumi is an incubator for social innovations that nurtures community scale economies to sustain the Asia-Pacific region. AmanBumi inspires and educates social innovators, with a special focus on youth, in providing knowledge and ideas that strengthen the capacity of current and future leaders to champion social change namely through awareness creation, capacity building and seed funding.
The vision of AmanBumi is to establish itself as a first of its kind, vibrant community of people in the Asia-Pacific who are actively engaged in building a more just, sustainable, and prosperous world through business. Its purpose is to strengthen the capacity of individuals and organizations, to develop innovative solutions to social problems; and to nurture community scale economies for self-reliance, and by that to sustain the world. AmanBumi demonstrates that social business has the potential to inspire the lives and practice of individuals and organizations, to contribute to solutions that better the world.
AmanBumi has already done some significant work. With Sadhana Visionary Academy (SVA), a secondary academic learning centre, AmanBumi’s role was/is capacity building and fundraising consultancy for a post-secondary educational facility for at-risk-children. AmanBumi is also incubating a peace ecology approach to the work of gender mainstreaming in biodiversity management in Malaysia, which is funded by the Danish Development Agency (DANIDA). Among many more examples, AmanBumi also worked with Creative Movements, an enterprise promoting drama therapy, by giving organizational planning, fundraising and launch consultancy to bring awareness to the benefits of drama therapy as an arts based healing tool. This paper will highlight AmanBumi’s work with SVA, by first giving a background to the target population SVA assists in the main, i.e. the Indian community in Malaysia.
The Indian Voice in Malaysia
Malaysia is a multiracial country made up in the main of Malays, Chinese, Indians, Indigenous groups and others. Sadhana Visionary Academy mainly targets Indian children in Malaysia as they are not given equal opportunities economically, politically and socially. Malaysia practices preferential treatment of the Malays through the New Economic Policy (NEP), which first began as a necessity to uplift the economic conditions of the Malays to be on par with the relatively higher standards of living of the other races, but which has outgrown its utility by being exploited by a few.
The current ethno-marginal community’s forefathers were recruited by the British during their rule in the then Malaya in the 1800s and 1900s from Madras (Tamil Nadu) States namely North and South Arcot, Salem, Coimbatore, Trichnopoly, Madura, Ramnadpuram, Chinglepet, Tanjore and Tinnevelly (Ramasamy 47). There were a couple of factors that encouraged people from this region to emigrate. The reasons people were willing to leave the Madras Presidency was the dwindling agrarian structure as a result of pressure on land, climatic conditions and the slow growth of industries to absorb the ever-increasing population. Conversely, the pull factor to Malaysia for these people was the immediate demand for labor in the expanding plantations.
Furthermore, the South Indian laborer was ideal as he had fewer qualms and taboos than the Northern Indians did. They were also not ambitious like the Chinese, and were most amenable to the low pay and regimented life of estate and government departments, and were most suited to the climate too (Sandhu 152). These Indians were synonymous with plantation agriculture, because they were from the agrarian caste in India.
In fact, the caste issue was not the only reason, but a big reason, why the South Indians emigrated. They were from the agricultural labor caste, which is made up of three further sub-castes i.e. bonded or semi-free laborers, underemployed landless laborers, and full-time ‘free’ wage laborers (Ramasamy 48). The labor castes are landless and generally spend most of their lives earning a meager living and paying of debts to the landowners for which they work. All the immigrants wanted was a way out of the system.
Advertisements, recruiting agents in South India and kangani (plantation supervisors) did recruiting. The largest emigration was between 1911-30 when about 90,000 people arrived annually to Malaya (Sandhu 151). The immigrants were relatively better off in Malaya than in India, but the conditions of the plantations and estates were deplorable. Health in the estates was so bad that a commission had to be set up in 1924 to highlight the situation.
Education was appalling and in Tamil only. The Government’s policy did not support English education in the estates due to cost. A laborer could not afford and did not bother with the luxury of such education. Tamil schools were inadequately housed, poorly equipped and run by untrained teachers (Arasaratnam 202). Excessive supervision, patronage and paternalism on the part of Indian and Malaysian governments did not generate initiative or ambition unlike the Chinese immigrants, and kept the Indian immigrants ignorant and resigned to their lot.
Indian educated classes (professionals and other white-collar workers) were the earliest of settlers to look upon themselves as permanent residents of Malaya. English educated Indians have less knowledge of cultural roots. They mixed with pan-Asians and had multiracial friends, and were members of diverse clubs and organizations (Arasaratnam 201). They moved away from the culture of their parents.
With independence for Malaya looming ahead, the immigrant took an active part in politics. Indians became more Malaysianized and involved in politics through the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). The MIC joined the national alliance, Barisan Nasional (BN), made up by the other two ethnic political bodies i.e. United Malay National Congress (UMNO) and Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA). All parties had strong representation in the government before and after independence in 1957, though the head of government, the Prime Minister, was from UMNO.
Unfortunately, the blackest day in Malaysian racial history, i.e. the racial riots of 1969 saw the roles of MIC and MCA curtailed. The government introduced the pro-Malay New Economic Policy (NEP). This race policy gives preferential treatment to the indigenous people of Malaysia, i.e. the Malays or Bumiputeras. Preference is given to these people by the Malay dominated government in all aspects of governance, especially education and business. The combined factors of bad interior leadership and the rival Peoples’ Action Party’s (PAP) more attractive stance of ‘Malaysian Malaysia’ instead of communal politics, in addition to the racial riots, saw MIC floundering (Sandhu 185). Also, the urban middle class Indians could not function effectively in the public sphere anymore due to the new language policy. They were the strongholds of the MIC and held positions of prestige while still under British rule. These middle class Indians were English educated, and hence were affected by the new national policy which made the national language Malay instead of English after the 1969 riots (Muzaffar 226).
The Indians did not play a strong role in Malaysian politics anymore, though they were still a part of the ruling BN coalition. Before, the distribution pattern of Indian populous, which was in plantation agriculture, was between the major urban and rural concentrations of the Chinese and Malay populous. Now, this geographical situation has translated into Malaysian communal economics and politics; Indians are caught between Chinese commercial omnipresence and Malay political and economic domination of the public sector (Sandhu 187).
Hence, to ensure a united society, which will maintain its independence, Malaysia practices social engineering to maintain stability in the nation. Or so it thought. Indians in Malaysia have found a home, but it is one where they sometimes feel second best because of the current race policy. But they are still Malaysians first, and Indians second. Perhaps the last word on the Indian immigrant experience in a new multicultural land, like Malaysia, is best summed up by Bharati Mukherjee’s introduction to his novel, Darkness:
Indian-ness is now a metaphor, a particular way of
partially comprehending the world…I see most of
these as stories of broken identities and discarded
languages, and the will to bond oneself to a new
community against the ever-present fear of failure
and betrayal.
The Indian in Malaysia knows no such fear, but he knows he is always in a state of compromise to avoid the slight but constant threat of that fear and betrayal. And this gave rise to Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) Makkal Sakthi (People’s Power) movement with an unprecedented Gandhian type public protest by Indians in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur on November 2007 demanding to be recognized equally in Malaysia (Malaysiakini, 2009). This resulted in several of the leaders of the movement put in detention without trial to date. Most importantly, it was also a catalyst for the ruling coalition’s weakening grip on power in the March 8th, 2009 elections (Ooi, 2009). The growing dissatisfaction of the Malaysian public, found voice through the public non-violent dissent of HINDRAF. The ruling coalition was for the first time ever in Malaysia’s independent history, denied a two third majority in parliament, which is required to make constitutional amendments. These are steps in motion to see change coming to Malaysia. However, change confined to the political sphere without addressing education, may not be lasting: hence the creation of Sadhana Visionary Academy.
A Solution: Sadhana Visionary Academy
The Sadhana Visionary Academy (SVA) is an innovative post primary educational program for high-achieving but financially challenged or disadvantaged students. These students are mainly from rural Tamil schools. These students will be selected based on their winning performance in the UPSR Malaysian Primary Education examinations or an equivalent assessment. This program helps these students maintain their academic excellence so they qualify to enter internationally recognized colleges and universities. There is a need to address effectively the situation where most of the students from rural Tamil schools are unable to maintain their academic standards when they transition into local secondary schools. Many students find that after primary school they are disadvantaged socio-economically and logistically to access international schooling.
The Vision of Sadhana Visionary Academy is to give disadvantaged students a chance for a better future through an innovative post primary educational programme. SVA aims to develop graduates who are independent, dynamic and compassionate contributors to their community and the world at large. There are two main goals of this programme. Firstly, SVA is aimed at creating a boarding facility to house and provide quality curriculum with personalized attention. The education syllabus will incorporate holistic approaches both in methodology and content. Holistic approach includes values based learning and service oriented leadership. Secondly, the aim of SVA is to provide these students with global exposure in education so that they have a brighter future and become positive contributing members of their society.
SVA is the education arm of Persatuan Kebajikan Arutperunjothi Margam (PKAM). PKAM’s charter is to provide welfare and education support for the poor, wherein running schools or education centers is one of its goals. PKAM unofficially started its Food Aid and Education Aid programs in 2001. As of 2008 these programmes support about 102 families by providing monthly groceries, and tuition and transport fees for children. PKAM is registered under the Registrar of Societies Malaysia, Reg. No: 0162-06-SEL. The students of SVA will be mainly from rural National Tamil School. At the moment two Tamil Schools, SRJK (T) Ladang Lenggeng and SRJK (T) Kirby have been identified for student recruitment. Both these schools are currently supported by Persatuan Kebajikan Arutperunjothi Margam’s Food Aid and Education Aid programmes. The teachers of these schools also have a good history of cooperation with the founders of SVA. Qualifying students for SVA will be high achievers in the Standard Six UPSR examination. Prior to enrollment students will also undergo curriculum specific diagnostic tests to assess their affinity to the SVA learning program.
With regards to funding, the disadvantaged children who qualify for SVA will be entirely privately funded through public donations. These donations will be collected by PKAM and distributed to SVA. All aspects of student care and education, including room and board, tuition fees, health care and transport will be provided for by donations to PKAM’s Education Aid Fund. It is estimated that the total monthly operating cost for SVA is RM5,000. Total tuition per year for each student is RM6,184.50. Thusfar SVA already has pledges to fund six students over the period of five years. The staff of SVA will include hostel wardens, security guards, private tutors and transport captains. These staff will see to the basic needs of the students and will be paid wages for their work. Volunteers will also be occasionally tapped to add value to the running of SVA and its projects. SVA’s inaugural intake of students for year 2010 is projected at 10. Orientation for this intake will be in October - November 2009 for preparation of official intake in January 2010.
The Technological Imperative
The SVA curriculum is only made possible through technological collaboration and creation through the internet. The strategies are already in place for SVA’s implementation with its proposed intake in January 2010. With regards to academic affiliation, the American home schooling curriculum was found to be the most suitable curriculum for SVA. American home schooling was evaluated as the most suitable in terms of ease of setup and implementation, flexibility of curriculum, values development within the curriculum and cost efficiency. Home schooling is a relatively understated phenomenon in Malaysia. The Education Ministry does not provide guidelines for home schooling, thus this allows SVA to use this platform to implement its own learning system without legal and political interference.
SVA will initially use the Alpha Omega Program as its syllabus for the first to years, with web based support from the U.S., and also a church that runs the program here. The church has the clearance from the Home Ministry to run its activities, and hence could be an umbrella of support if the need arises. The stakeholders of SVA find no issue having the Christian content for the students as spiritual content based on Hindu principles will be offered as electives within the course. The long term goal of SVA is to run its own independent international program. After two years, SVA will subsequently migrate to a secular home schooling program in the U.S., most likely offered by The Learning Community International (TLCI) which has offered web-based support of SVA’s work. This will allow for SVA to also collaborate and create its own courses.
Pilot
It must be acknowledged, however, that there will be challenges academically as SVA’s curriculum content will be in English, whereas the Malaysian public school system from which the high achieving students will be selected is in the national language of Bahasa Malaysia. Provisions have been made to neutralize this gap by orientating the students as to what to expect for the program in October and November 2009, and by setting aside funds to hire English language tutors who will give intensive language classes especially for the first two years.
A diagnostics test was administered by SVA to assess preliminarily the level of compatibility of twelve possible candidates for the program. The test was administered in March 2009, approximately six months before the pupils Year 6 UPSR exams, which is the national standard for graduation from primary school. SVA only administered the Math test and found that their current level of comprehension of content is equivalent to Grade 4 of the Alpha Omega program. Majority of the students could answer straight forward questions presented in numerical equations, but struggled when the questions was presented in sentence form. Hence it can be concluded that it is more a language weakness than a skill weakness that SVA needs to address.
Further preliminary diagnostics in English and Science will be conducted in April 2009. The final set of diagnostics comprising all the three subjects will be administered in September 2009. The results of these final assessments and that of the national Year 6 examinations will be used to select the pupils for SVA’s inaugural intake.
The Path Ahead
Malaysia has much to offer all its people. However some have to forge their way forward by creating new paths. Sadhana Visionary Academy is such a path that disadvantaged children in Malaysia may use to build their self-esteem and help their communities by broadening their exposure through international education. Ultimately, the long term plan for SVA is for it to be self-sustaining by creating a commercial arm open to all, which will support its fully-funded model. As most experimentation happens with hybrid non-profit ventures (Elkington and Hartigan, 2008) as envisioned, there is much potential for the scope of SVA to serve more communities in the nation, and the region.
References
Arasaratnam, S. (1993), ‘Malaysian Indians: The Formation of Incipient Society’, Indian
Communities in Southeast Asia. Eds. K.S. Sandhu and A. Mani. Singapore,
Times Academic Press.
Elkington, J.d and Hartigan, P. (2008), The Power of Unreasonable People, Boston, Harvard University Press.
Muzaffar, C. (1993), ‘Political Marginalization in Malaysia.’ Indian Communities in
Southeast Asia. eds. K.S. Sandhu and A. Mani. Singapore: Times Academic
Press.
Ooi, K.B. (2009), ‘Post-mortem Necessary for UMNO to understand March 8th’, Malaysiakini, online
Retrieved 20th March 2008
Ramasamy, R. (1982), ‘The Role of Caste in the Migration of Indian Tamils to Malaysia.’ Malaysia in History: Journal of the Malaysian Historical Society. v.25
pp.47-58
Sandhu, K.S. (1993), ‘The Coming of Indians to Malaysia’. Indian Communities in
Southeast Asia. Eds. K.S. Sandhu and A. Mani. Singapore: Times Academic
Press.
‘Special Report: The Hindraf Protest’, Malaysiakini, online
Retrieved 15th March 2009
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