PETALING JAYA, Mar 23 (Sin Chew Daily) – According to the education ministry's February statistics, total student enrolment in Chinese primary schools in the country stood at 507,177, a 15.92% drop since 2010.

The United Chinese School Teachers' Association of Malaysia (Jiaozong) said in a statement titled "Development Trends in the Number and Student Enrolment of Chinese Primary Schools in the Country, 2010-2021" that the number of SJKC students in all states had dropped with the only exceptions of Sabah and Labuan.

"Nevertheless, conservative estimates show that more than 90% of Chinese parents have sent their children to Chinese primary schools for fundamental education, attesting to the fact that the local Chinese community still values the vernacular education."

The statement also pointed out that the percentage of non-Chinese students at SJKCs had jumped from 11.84% in 2010 to 19.75% in 2020, according to the ministry's statistics.

"This shows that non-Chinese parents are growingly drawn to the successful running of Chinese primary schools, as more and more of them are sending their children to these schools for education.

"It also proves that SJKCs are providing a multicultural learning environment where children from different ethnic backgrounds get to study together happily and harmoniously."

Selangor has the largest SJKC enrolment in the country at 110,276 (21.7%), followed by Johor (90,473 or 17.8%).

The statement also said lower student enrolment at SJKCs was a natural development, given the declining birth rate among Chinese Malaysians over the years.