00:00 Will Chinese vernacular schools survive?
00:05 Bayan Baru MP Sim Sir Sin posed this question today in light of declining birth rates among
00:12 the Chinese community.
00:14 Sim said only 40,000 ethnic Chinese babies were born in 2022, making up less than 10%
00:21 of the total 423,124 Malaysian babies born that year.
00:28 He said in five years' time, these children will be entering Standard 1 and will have
00:33 1,200 SJKCs to choose from.
00:37 Sim said even if all 40,000 were enrolled in vernacular school, on average, each SJKC
00:44 will only get 33 new students.
00:47 This he said would mean that there would only be one Standard 1 class per SJKC.
00:53 As it is, Sim said many SJKCs in rural areas have less than 150 students, earning them
01:00 the label 'sekolah kurang murid'.
01:03 The situation isn't any better in urban areas, Sim said, with Chinese vernacular schools
01:08 having to fight to get students enrolled.
01:11 (upbeat music)
