Accept that English is important

FIRST and foremost, I would like to congratulate Dr Maszlee Malik on his appointment as Education Minister in the Pakatan Harapan government. It is not an easy task but it could be less complicated if he puts his ears to the ground.

I appreciate his vision for a holistic education but after listening to his views at a recent public forum and on TV, I have doubts over whether it will materialise.

What this country needs is to go back to the old, time-tested education system. We then had Englishmedium schools using the Cambridge syllabus, which is no different from those offered at private international schools now.

Despite the various efforts of previous education ministers in the Barisan Nasional government, the level of English competency among students remained very low. This is primarily due to the lack of a condu- cive English environment in national schools ( sekolah kebangsaan) despite the great efforts of teachers and the facilities provided.

Being handicapped in the language, many students are unable to read books in English or even English newspapers.

We are now in an ironic situation where the national school is not the school of choice among parents who can afford other options. This was not the case when the medium of instruction in schools was English. Back then, there was a good mix of races in the classes in both urban and rural schools.

While it is not easy to go back to the old system, at least the Pakatan government can convert some selected schools, like Batu Road Boys School and Batu Road Girls School, into English medium beginning from Primary One. Parents will then have a choice of schools to enrol their children.

We have to be realistic. Despite the National Education Policy and Dasar Bahasa Kebangsaan (National Language Policy), English will still be more important as the language of commerce, diplomacy and academia in this country. Hence, we should not deny our children an English education, which today is accessible mainly by the elites.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has raised concern over the poor English competency of civil servants. The rot started in school but it was not the fault of the students, teachers or parents. It was due to the absence of a conducive English environment in national schools.