Set English benchmark
WE refer to “Irked by teaching medium” ( The Star, Feb 15) and wish to highlight to the Education Ministry that this situation is occurring in many schools throughout the country with many principals ignoring the call of the minister that “students who started in English can finish in English”.
In this particular school cited in the report, students who had expressed a desire to be taught in English were being ignored.
The students’ attempts to organise a class to be taught in English ended up with them being reprimanded.
Forms which were distributed to students to seek their choice of medium earlier in the year failed to be collected completely; students who had ticked English were told to keep their forms instead.
The principal has decided that the students will be taught “bilingually” on verbal instructions by the district education office. The textbooks which have been distributed are in English, but the medium of instruction is Bahasa Malaysia (BM).
Ask any district education officer and each will have his or her own version of what “bilingualism” should be.
Another school, we are told, teaches the first chapter in BM, the second chapter in English, followed by BM, then English, and it goes on and on!
The other “threat” that principals use on students to get them to conform is by saying that questions in tests and examinations will be strictly in BM.
This will likely create a problem in the near future since school-based assessments will be superseding standardised exams like PKSR ( Penilaian Kendalian Sekolah Rendah) and PMR ( Penilaian Menengah Rendah).
We hope the Education Ministry will throw some light on the definition of “bilingual”, and the language questions will be set in respect of the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English.
The ministry has to take responsibility in ensuring that students who want to be taught in English are allowed this option without any impediment from principals whatsoever.
Principals, instead, should facilitate as best as they could, without imposing any conditions on their students.
In addition, in terms of English proficiency, we need to set a proper benchmark, perhaps against the Cambridge standard or any other English skills ranking around the world, and work towards achieving a level of acceptable proficiency. DATIN NOOR AZIMAH ABDUL RAHIM, Chairman, Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia.