TTLV: British educational policy in Malaya (1874 - 1941)

MASTER'S THESIS INFORMATION

1. Student's full name:Hoang Phan Hanh Hien                      

2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: December 1, 1991

4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Decision on recognition of students No. 2998/2013/QD-XHNV-SDH dated December 30, 2013 of the President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in the training process:

7. Thesis topic name:British educational policy in Malaya (1874 - 1941)

8. Major: World History Code: 60.22.03.11

9. Scientific instructor:Dr. Ly Tuong Van, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

10. Summary of thesis results:

Under colonial rule, education was a particularly important content of the governments in the colonial governance program. The thesis chooses the research topic of the British educational policy in Malaya from 1874 when the British colonialists officially established the governing regime, until Malaya was occupied by Japan in 1941. Using historical and historical sociological approaches, the thesis on the one hand points out the pluralistic characteristics in traditional Malayan society, on the other hand analyzes the educational policy of the British colonialists - within the "divide and rule" policy system - which is pragmatic and especially effective in the case of pluralistic Malaya. Taking advantage of the ethnic diversity (including indigenous Malays and immigrant ethnic groups, of which the majority are Chinese and Indians) and the great differences between ethnic groups in terms of religion, beliefs, language, culture, and differences in both living areas and the role of each ethnic group in the economy, etc., the educational policy of British colonialism focused on the goal of emphasizing the differences between ethnic groups and maintaining the distinct characteristics of each group, in order to prevent the solidarity and unity of ethnic groups in opposing the colonial government. The two main chapters of the thesis analyzed the educational policy of the British government for each ethnic group, first of all, divided by language means: education in Malay for indigenous Malays, education in Chinese for immigrant Chinese, and education in Tamil for Indians. The thesis also points out that, even for the indigenous Malay community, the British colonialists also applied a "dual education policy" with elite education for the aristocracy and purely agricultural education for the common people. In addition, there were specific regulations for each type of school with different levels of priority for ethnic groups in relation to the British colonial interests in Malaya. In the Comments and Conclusions section, the thesis points out the consequences of the colonial education policy on Malayan society during the colonial period. The thesis also initially compares the British education policy in Malaya and the French education policy in Vietnam (through the case of Bac Ky). Thereby, the thesis provides additional historical and social bases to contribute to a more scientific explanation of the differences in the path of struggle for national independence as well as the path of development after independence of the two countries.

11. Practical application:

In Vietnam, research on Malaya/Malaysia is still very limited, in which the issue of educational policy of British colonialism in Malaya has not been systematically studied and has not had a comprehensive perspective. Therefore, the thesis with the above research results after being defended can be used as learning materials and references for further research on Malaya/Malaysia in Vietnam in the near future.

12. Further research directions:

The author of the thesis wishes to continue to delve into the changes in political and social ideology of the Malay community (both commoners and aristocrats) and of the Chinese and Indian immigrant communities and their contributions to the struggle for independence for Malaya.

13. Published works related to the thesis:

INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS

1. Full name: Hoang Phan Hanh Hien 2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: December 1, 1991 4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Admission decision number: No.2998/2013/QD-XHNV-SĐH, dated 30^thDecember 2013 by President of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in academic process:

7. Official thesis title: British Educational Policies in Malaya (1874 – 1941).

8. Major: History of World Code: 60.22.03.11

9. Supervisors: Ph.D. Ly Tuong Van, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi National University.

10. Summary of the findings of the thesis:

Under the colonial regime, education was particularly important content of the colonial government rule policies. Thesis has selected research issue of educational policy in Malaya from 1874 when the official British colonial rule set, to the Japanese occupation of Malaya in 1941. By historical approach and historical sociology method, on one hand, the thesis has pointed out features of pluralism in traditional Malaya society, on the other hand, has analyzed education policy of the colonial British - in the "divide and rule" policy system - was pragmatic and extremely useful in the case of plural society in Malaya. Taking advantage of the ethnic characteristics diversity (including indigenous Malay and immigrant communities of which the majority are Chinese, Indian) and the large gap between the religious, beliefs, linguistic, cultural and separated residence localities and roles of each ethnic group in the economy, etc., British colonial education policies focus on focusing on emphasizing the differences between ethnic groups, and maintaining the specific characteristics of each group, to prevent the solidarity and unity of ethnic groups to fight the colonial government. Two main chapters of the thesis analyze the educational policy of the British government for each ethnic group is firstly classified by language: Malay for indigenous Malays, Chinese for immigrant Chinese and Tamil for Indians. Thesis also points out, even for the indigenous Malay community, the British also applied "dual education policy" with an elite education for the nobility and agricultural education for the commoner. Besides the specific rules for each type of school with different priority levels for all groups in relation to the colonial interests of the British Malaya. In the Discussion and Conclusions, the thesis raised the consequences of colonial education policies for Malaya society in that period, and the first step also compares the educational policy of the French with British in Malaya through North Vietnam case. Thereby, the thesis provides additional basics of history and society to contribute to more scientific explanation in the differences of the way the struggle for national independence as well as the future development path of two independent states.

11. Practical applicability, if any:

In Vietnam, the study of Malaya / Malaysia is very limited, and education policy issues of British colonialism in Malaya have not been studied in a systematic way and has not had comprehensive perspective. Therefore, the thesis with such findings may become useful learning materials and reference for Malaya / Malaysia studies in Vietnam in the coming time.

12. Further research directions, if any:

The author wishes to continue to study in depth for the changes in the political-ideological society of the Malay community (both commoner and elite) and the immigrant communities like Chinese, Indian and their contribution in the struggle for Malaya independence.

13. Thesis-related publications: