KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Education (MoE) has been urged to intensify training and placement of teachers capable of teaching Science and Mathematics in English to ensure there are sufficient numbers of such teachers.
This move is necessary to meet the needs in line with the government’s approach to allow the teaching of both subjects in English.
National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Harry Tan Huat Hock said the number of teachers who are capable of teaching both subjects in English was limited nationwide.
“Schools that offer dual language programme (DLP) need to be given due attention and the matter should not be left to the school management only. The ministry also needs to ensure the school principals can converse in English fluently so that they can run the programme smoothly,” he told Bernama.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced on Saturday that the government was taking the middle-road approach to the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English in schools but at the same time the teaching of both subjects in national language would also be continued.
Dr Mahathir said the middle-road approach would be implemented as there were Malaysians who supported the use of English to teach the subjects while others were against it.
The DLP programme, implemented in national primary and secondary schools since 2016, allows selected schools to teach Science, Mathematics, Information Technology and Communications as well as Design Technology in English.
Meanwhile, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) Faculty of Human Development lecturer Prof Dr Saedah Siraj expressed concerns over teachers’ proficiency to teach both subjects in English which, she said, could cause confusion among students in the course teaching and learning.
“At the primary school level teachers are still able to deliver in English despite the lack of English-proficient teachers. The problem will arise in the secondary school where English proficiency is necessary,” she said.
Meanwhile, Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (Melta) president Prof Dr Ganakumaran Subramaniam said bilingual instruction via DLP could be improved so that students could enhance their language skills in both English and Bahasa Malaysia.
“If the implementation of the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English or the national language becomes the choice of students and parents, then the decision of these bilingual classes should be determined by the school’s stakeholders,” he said.
In the meantime, National Parent-Teacher Associations Consultative Council (PIBGN) president Associate Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Ali Hassan expressed his hope that the government would consider and refine the existing approach because it was feared it could affect the gap in knowledge acquisition.
“Are there enough available teaching staff for the purpose and is there a guarantee that there will be healthy competition in those schools?” he asked. - Bernama