Math and Science back to Bahasa, mother tongues

The Star
Published: Wednesday July 8, 2009 MYT 2:42:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday July 8, 2009 MYT 3:55:24 PM
Math and Science back to Bahasa, mother tongues

KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has decided that the medium of instruction for Maths and Science will revert to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools and mother-tongue languages in national-type schools from 2012 onwards.

The reversal of the Teaching of Math and Science in English (PPSMI) policy will be done in stages, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said on Wednesday.

He however added that there will be greater emphasis on learning the English language.

English literature will be re-introduced, as will subjects on grammar and composition.

Beginning 2012, students in Year One and Year Four in primary schools, and Form One and Form Four in secondary schools, will learn Math and Science in Bahasa Malaysia.

The change will not affect those in Form Six and Matriculation.

The two subjects will be taught in two languages until 2014 for other students, he said.

“The gap between rural and urban students has widened since PPSMI started.

“Only 19.2% of secondary teachers and 9.96% of primary teachers were sufficiently proficient in English,” he said, explaining the Government’s decision to revert to the old system.

On efforts to emphasise the learning of English, the number of English teachers would be increased by 13,933 -- retirees would be hired, as well as foreigners if need be.

Primary schools will also increase English classes by 90 minutes a week.

There have been calls from various groups for the policy to revert to before 2003, when the subjects were taught in Bahasa Malaysia in national schools, and either in Chinese or Tamil in national-type schools.

The issue has seen a rare alliance between Malay and Chinese educationists, who are against the switch, although there are also calls by many parents and entrepreneurs for English to be maintained.

Thank goodness my brother and sister escape the horrors of reverting to BM and mother tongues for Science and Maths. They're just one year ahead of this epic reversal stunt pulled off by the Cabinet.

Let's look at something I find interesting:

The issue has seen a rare alliance between Malay and Chinese educationists, who are against the switch...

Do you really think that they are allied against the teaching of Science and Maths in English for the same reasons? I don't think so. The two groups may be allied in their stand, but one thing has been clear from the start: They each have their own agendas. As far as I understand [and this understanding may be biased or flawed], the Malays feel that the "superiority" of their language is being threatened by English. On the other hand, the Chinese educationists believe that the majority of Chinese students are not making much headway with Science and Maths taught in English. It's basically two different groups of people, with different reasons for uniting against a common problem. What they plan after that is another point entirely. Which worries me. Will another different group of people demand something else again later on? And how will the Cabinet decide this time round?

Conspiracy theories aside, all I can say regarding this piece of news is that the education system in Malaysia is just another step towards generating failures. "Malaysisa", one of the most common spelling mistakes for "Malaysia", might soon become fact rather than fiction, if we keep spewing out "sisa" like the person writing the letter in the post below this.