KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet has decided that the medium ofinstruction for Maths and Science will revert to Bahasa Malaysia innational schools and mother-tongue languages in national-type schoolsfrom 2012 onwards.
The reversal of the Teaching of Math andScience in English (PPSMI) policy will be done in stages, Deputy PrimeMinister 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.
Beginning2012, students in Year One and Year Four in primary schools, and FormOne and Form Four in secondary schools, will learn Math and Science inBahasa 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.
“Only19.2% of secondary teachers and 9.96% of primary teachers weresufficiently proficient in English,” he said, explaining theGovernment’s decision to revert to the old system.
On efforts toemphasise the learning of English, the number of English teachers wouldbe increased by 13,933 -- retirees would be hired, as well asforeigners if need be.
Primary schools will also increase English classes by 90 minutes a week.
Therehave been calls from various groups for the policy to revert to before2003, when the subjects were taught in Bahasa Malaysia in nationalschools, and either in Chinese or Tamil in national-type schools.
Theissue 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.
Comment : I heart fully agree with the decision. Well, u see, we already have the English subject itself. So, why must we involve Math and Science in this matter? Does learning math in english will enhance your english proficiency? For god sake, it's all about numbers and science is all about concepts. To success in math and science for later education, it's very very essential to understand and grasp the foundations securely. That means, the subjects must first be taught in a manner that the students can understand easily. Tell me, how can this be achieved if we teach these subjects in a language that the students can barely understand. English is not our mother tongue and learning this language itself will take time and efforts unless these students have been speaking in english at home which is very rarely found in Malaysia. Many people say it will soon be a trouble when the students enroll in university since most subjects are taught in english. My god, are these people too ignorant to realise the existence of English subject in primary and secondary school. When the time comes for them to go for tertiary education, if they are really learning in school, 11 years of preparation of learning English is enough for that. Most important scientific terms do not differ much in both language and believe me, the transition will be smooth provided that they already have strong foundations and knowledges in that particular field. Learning math and science is not about language, it's all about understanding. You dont memorize to solve mathematical problems... and you definitely dont need to memorize to explain scientifical phenomena if you really understand what is happening.
The reversal of the Teaching of Math andScience in English (PPSMI) policy will be done in stages, Deputy PrimeMinister 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.
Beginning2012, students in Year One and Year Four in primary schools, and FormOne and Form Four in secondary schools, will learn Math and Science inBahasa 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.
“Only19.2% of secondary teachers and 9.96% of primary teachers weresufficiently proficient in English,” he said, explaining theGovernment’s decision to revert to the old system.
On efforts toemphasise the learning of English, the number of English teachers wouldbe increased by 13,933 -- retirees would be hired, as well asforeigners if need be.
Primary schools will also increase English classes by 90 minutes a week.
Therehave been calls from various groups for the policy to revert to before2003, when the subjects were taught in Bahasa Malaysia in nationalschools, and either in Chinese or Tamil in national-type schools.
Theissue 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.
Comment : I heart fully agree with the decision. Well, u see, we already have the English subject itself. So, why must we involve Math and Science in this matter? Does learning math in english will enhance your english proficiency? For god sake, it's all about numbers and science is all about concepts. To success in math and science for later education, it's very very essential to understand and grasp the foundations securely. That means, the subjects must first be taught in a manner that the students can understand easily. Tell me, how can this be achieved if we teach these subjects in a language that the students can barely understand. English is not our mother tongue and learning this language itself will take time and efforts unless these students have been speaking in english at home which is very rarely found in Malaysia. Many people say it will soon be a trouble when the students enroll in university since most subjects are taught in english. My god, are these people too ignorant to realise the existence of English subject in primary and secondary school. When the time comes for them to go for tertiary education, if they are really learning in school, 11 years of preparation of learning English is enough for that. Most important scientific terms do not differ much in both language and believe me, the transition will be smooth provided that they already have strong foundations and knowledges in that particular field. Learning math and science is not about language, it's all about understanding. You dont memorize to solve mathematical problems... and you definitely dont need to memorize to explain scientifical phenomena if you really understand what is happening.
