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

INFORMATION ABOUT THE MASTER'S THESIS

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 student admission No. 2998/2013/QD-XHNV-SDH dated December 30, 2013, by the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in the training process:

7. Thesis title:British education policy in Malaya (1874 - 1941)

8. Major: World History Code: 60.22.03.11

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

10. Summary of the thesis results:

Under colonial rule, education was a particularly important aspect of the government's colonial administration program. This thesis chooses to study British education policy in Malaya from 1874, when the British officially established their rule, until Malaya was occupied by Japan in 1941. Using a historical and sociological approach, the thesis, on the one hand, points out the pluralistic nature of traditional Malayan society, and on the other hand, analyzes the British colonial education policy – ​​part of the "divide and conquer" policy system – as pragmatic and particularly effective in the pluralistic context of Malaya. Taking advantage of the ethnic diversity (including indigenous Malays and immigrant groups, the majority of whom were Chinese and Indians) and the significant differences between ethnic groups in religion, beliefs, language, culture, geographical locations, and the role of each ethnic group in the economy, etc., the British colonial education policy focused on emphasizing the differences between ethnic groups and maintaining the distinct characteristics of each group, aiming to prevent the unity and solidarity of ethnic groups in resisting the colonial government. The two main chapters of this thesis analyze the British government's education policy for each ethnic group, first categorized by language: 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 applied a "dual education policy," with elite education for the aristocracy and a purely agricultural education for the common people. In addition, there were specific regulations for each type of school with different levels of priority given to ethnic groups, considered in relation to British colonial interests in Malaya. In the Commentary and Conclusion section, the thesis outlines the consequences of colonial education policies on Malayan society during the colonial period. The thesis also initially compares British education policies in Malaya and French education policies in Vietnam (through the case of Tonkin). Through this, the thesis provides further historical and social foundations to contribute to a more scientific explanation of the differences in the paths of national independence struggles and post-independence development of the two countries.

11. Practical applications:

In Vietnam, research on Malaya/Malaysia is still very limited, and the issue of British colonial education policies in Malaya has not been systematically studied or viewed comprehensively. Therefore, this thesis, with its research results presented after defense, can serve as learning material and a reference for further research on Malaya/Malaysia in Vietnam in the future.

12. Future research directions:

The author of this thesis wishes to further delve into the transformations in the socio-political ideology of the Malay community (both commoners and nobility) and of the Chinese and Indian immigrant communities, as well as their contributions to the struggle for Malayan independence.

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 objectives to emphasize the differences between ethnic groups, and maintain 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: