I am fairly certain that most people must have predicted that the government would make the about turn in policy relating to the teaching of maths and science in Malaysian schools.
About a month ago, I posted "Shocking Revelation?" in which I discussed the issue of making English a must-pass subject in our schools. When I ended that post, I expressed my doubts if it will ever happen.
I suppose if the government continued with the policy of the teaching of maths and science in English, many of the rural kids will be disadvantaged, because we just don't have enough teachers at the moment. The kampung kids will probably do badly in school; and then maybe the Bumiputras including the Malays, Ibans, Dayaks, Kadazans, Muruts etc will also find it very tough. The poor grades would look bad on the education ministry. That is certainly a no-no. Meanwhile, those rich and powerful poeple sitting in high office will send their children to foreign schools and universities.
However, it seems that there will be more emphasis in the English language from now on. Just imagine how serious the government is—they're increasing the English hours for matriculation students by a whopping 100%! Which means the poor kids will now have to struggle with 6 hours of English each week! I'm sure that can help a lot in improving their English command. I'm not sure if the government is still pursuing the "must-pass English" issue.
Well, looks like I'll have to start saving even more so that when my JJ grows up, hopefully I would have enough savings to send her abroad too. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. It is good that the majority of Malaysians can't handle English, so that the few that can can become the sought-after people in the job market in time to come.
But that is of course assuming that the government will not make yet another about turn after the year 2012. They have the habit of doing that, you see. They keep coming up with new policies which are not really new. And now that we have a new policy in our education system, we can all look forward to better performances from the kids. But of course whether or not their certificates will be of any use remains to be seen.
6 comments:
A little update since I posted this article yesterday.
Earlier today, I received a text message from a friend, asking me to go to Dr M's blog to vote on this issue. I replied that there is no point to vote. I didn't have to wait for the outcome of that poll. Of course the majority of us would want to continue the teaching of maths and science in English. Just that when the government conducts the survey, they will somehow end up with most people supporting the teaching in Malay.
Now, if it has any meaning at all, read this.
Yet another update:
When I updated my readers last night with the news article from NST, it was reported that 80% of the 26,000 polled voted against the teaching of maths and science in Malay.
Well, now the poll is quickly picking up momentum; the number of respondents have just passed 58,000. And the percentage who voted against teaching in Malay had surged to 85%. I wonder how many people participated in the survey conducted by the government.
By the way, those of you who still don't know Tun's blog, follow this link. The poll is still ongoing on the sidebar of that blog.
I don't know how many participated in the Govt's survey but I think their survey is far more accurate and fair. They would have the resources and ways to survey the WHOLE nation, the schools, teachers and parents in small towns, rural areas, all types of schools and yes including urban stakeholders.
An online vote on the other hand only reflects a segment of the public. The urban, educated, mostly English speaking, wired audiences. The result of the survey on HIS blog will surely favors English. He is a smart guy. Like any good lawyer, he only ask question that he already know the answer/result.
Also depending on which online site the vote is being conducted, the results may be very different. If the same survey is conducted at UMNO youth site for example, the results may be a complete opposite.
delurk,
I'm inclined to agree with you about the poll in the Tun's blog. However, looking at the comments from his readers, I dare say that quite a fair number of them are more comfortable to write in Malay, and when they do comment in English, it seems that they could use a bit of improvement in the language.
That aside, I still think that most people who read his blog would tend to agree with him; hence majority of them would vote against the teaching in Malay.
I think a similar poll has been conducted in The Star, of which most voted against the teaching in Malay. But again, we come back to the same problem - that English readers are assumed to prefer English.
Apart from polls conducted by different parties, we also read most of the major papers which reported surveys done on ordinary people in the street, teachers, students, parents etc; and most of them were also against the teaching in Malay. They can't all be wrong?
Yes, the government's poll might be more accurate. However, since there is no transparency, we have our doubts. How many people participated in the poll? What percentage voted for/against? How many votes have been blocked?
Yes, when it comes to the government, they have the habit to block some things which do not favour them. If you don't believe me, wait till the next general election. All you see in the TV and papers are in favour of the government. I suppose some things will never change.
By the way, delurk, don't you ever sleep? You're still commenting in this blog at 1:38am. Maybe you need a strong sedative like Michael Jackson, huh?
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