History of Tamil in Singapore

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The History of Tamil and its use in Singapore

To fully understand the state of the Tamil language in Singapore, we must first acquire an understanding of the language’s history in this island state. Amongst the plethora of Indian languages, Tamil is the most widely spoken in Singapore. This arose from the unique circumstances in which Indians settled in Singapore; the first Indians who came to the then-British colony were mostly Southern Indians, whose vernacular was dominantly Tamil. This ratio of Tamils in the entire Indian community still exist today; they form about 61% of the total Indian population.[1]

The Tamil population was not an affluent community. This hindered Tamil education in the early days of Singapore. Historical literature attests to the reality of the early Indians in Singapore.

Tamil education was on the other hand, almost non-existent in Singapore. In 1935, Tamil schools were registered as having 166 student (see Wilson, 1978: 64) and shortly before the outbreak of World War II, one thousand pupils were enrolled at registered Tamil schools (see Doraisamy, 1969: 38). The Government allocation of 0.5% of its total expenditure for education to Tamil schools illustrates their importance of education.

Altehender-Smith, Sherida, Language Change via Language Planning, 1990

History of Tamil Education Timeline

1819 - 1929

During this period, the Indian population, like many others flocking to

Singapore, consisted of migrants. Setting up education was not a top

priority for them. The British East India Company who ruled Singapore

from 1819 to 1834 adopted a laissez-fair attitude towards education,

focusing their concerns on British Malaya as a whole. This meant

needs of the indigenous Malay majority was considered above that

of transient migrant populations. The Malay language was given

importance as the vernacular and free elementary schooling in Malay

was provided by the government, together with aid for English-medium

schools.

1819-33	No Tamil schools.
1834	First Tamil class started by Singapore Free school.
	(closed in 1835 and reopened from 1837-39)
1839	Christian missions revived Tamil education.
	(usually taught Tamil with English)
1876	Government decides not to support Chinese and Tamil
	education.
	(on grounds that English education was prefered)
1884-7	Tamil schools existed.
	They had no government aid and did not survive.
1916-24	1 Anglo-Tamil school was given aid.

1930-44
This period saw the establishment of Tamil education due to the
following reasons:
	a)The Indian population was more settled.
	b)The Roman Catholic Mission and Ramakrishna Mission
	established and managed Tamil schools with relative
	success.
	c) The Singapore Indian Association took charge of education
	for the Indians.
However, standards of Tamil education was still low due to an array
of reasons. This ranged from the lack of trained teachers to the general
indifference of the Indian population to Tamil education.

1928	Singapore Indian Association work with Ramakrisna Mission
	to assume responsibility for the Indian population.
1928-34	Government policy continued to denied grants to Chinese
	and Tamil education.
1935	Sir Shenton Thomas, the governor, restored government
	grants to schools regardless of medium of instruction.
1938	3 out of 11 Tamil Mission schools received government
	assistance.
1942-45	Japanese Occupation of Singapore
	Many Tamil schools closed down.
	Indian Independence League got involved in the administration
	of Tamil schools (used as propaganda tools for them).

1945-58

1945	Post-war
	British Military Administration reestablished schools.
	Children were encouraged to attend English-medium
	schools.
1946	Tamil associations, Missions and labour unions provided
	Tamil education.
	25 Tamil schools established.
1948	State of Emergency in Singapore and Malaya.
	Trade unions disbanded and many unionist fled or
	were arrested. Some had managed and taught at Tamil
	schools. This, coupled with poor finance, caused schools
	to close down.
1949	Tamil Education Society set up.
	It aimed to help the government to revive Tamil education.
1950	23 Tamil schools existed in Singapore.
	All 23 schools only taught at primary level.
1956	Establishment of Tamil teachers' training class at the
	Teachers' Training College.
1957	Department of Indian Studies with Tamil as main language
	was set up at the University of Malaya in Singapore.

1959-68

1959	Start of government Tamil schools.
	Schools fully aided.
1960	Establishment of first Tamil secondary schools.
1966	Memorandum on Tamil Education.
1967	Prof. Thani Nayagam at University of Malaya brought
	world attention to Tamil at the 1st International Conference
	on Tamil research.

1969-82
This period saw the decline and end of Tamil schools in Singapore.
Developments in the political, social and economic environment of
Singapore affected the demand for Tamil education adversely.
Bi-lingualism was emphasised after the separation from Malaysia
and English education was promoted as a means of securing one's
future employment prospects.

1965	Separation from Malaysia
	Policy of bi-lingualism and rapid industralization with English
	as the language of wider communication.
1975	Enrolment at primary one classes in Tamil-medium schools
	fell to nil.
	NUS Tamil Literary Society established.
1977	1st biennial seminar by NUS Tamil Literary Society -
	"Tamil Language and Literature in Singapore".
1981	Submission of report on the the re-establishment of
	Indian Studies at University.
1982-86	Annual Youth Seminars organised by Youth Wing of the
	Tamils Representative Council
1985	Last Tamil school, the Umar Pulavar Tamil High School
	closes down.

Summary

The failure of Tamil-medium schools to survive often revolved

around a series of similar problems. The lack of government support

and that of suitable textbooks, teachers and finances led to the low

prestige of Tamil education and that of a proper structure for Tamil

education beyond that of a primary level throughout the years.

Ultimately, the social, poltical and economic environment of

Singapore was not conducive to the growth of Tamil education.

[1] K. Palanisamy, A History of Umar Pulavar Tamil School, 1946-1982