Singapore Tamil Youth Conference 2018 Toolkit Toolkit 2018 Final | Page 18

Current Status of Tamil Beyond Formal Schooling
Formal means of engaging with Tamil
beyond GCE ‘O’ Levels
of one’s language does not
contribute to one’s future career
•
Pursuing higher education in Tamil: H2
Tamil Language and Literature (TLL) in
Junior College
• H2 Tamil Language and Literature is
an arts subject that is equivalent to any
other humanities subject at the H2
level
• Even though TLL can be used for
university entry application, the take-
up rate for H2 TLL is steadily
declining amongst JC students
Even in JCs, students are less likely
to pursue H1 Tamil lesson on their
own accord unless it is a
compulsory lesson
According to Ministry of Education,
Higher Tamil is being taught in 34
secondary schools across Singapore
(Ministry of Education, 2018)
•
Out of the 19 Junior Colleges in
Singapore, 14 of them offer H2 TLL.
The total take-up rate amongst all the
14 colleges is only 40-50, which
reflects an average of 3-4 students
taking the subject in each JC (YJC,
2016)
Common misconception that TLL is of no
use to one’s future university pursuits
disincentivizes students from taking it as a
subject
•
According to JC Tamil teachers whom
we interviewed, even if students are
interested to pursue TLL in JC, some
parents discourage them from doing
so as they view it as a fickle pursuit
• Students are also more inclined to
taking subjects that will allow them to
fare better in entering university
• Additionally,
parents
also
encourage them to be more
practical and career-focused which
drives the notion that the pursuit
• The additional 2 points and the
fact that they will not need to
pursue the subject in pre-university
incentivises students to take HMT
• The learning of mother tongue is
viewed from a skewed perspective
even by educators themselves
• Peddling the notion that higher
mother tongue is a ‘necessary evil’
so as to get the subject "over and
done with" by Secondary 4 and not
spend time on it in junior college.
• Proficiency in Higher Tamil is not
a prerequisite for enrolment
o “Students are taking HMT not
because they are interested in the
subject or have a strong ability in it.
They are doing it because it gives
them a two-point concession for
entering a junior college, and
because those who score a D7 and
above for HMT at the O levels
satisfy the entry requirement for
three universities here.” - A forum
letter published in The Straits
Times (Goh, 2016)
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