KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s decision to revert to the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics and Science in English (PPSMI) policy has earned praise from parents, who said it will better prepare their children for the future.
In welcoming the move, they expressed hope the policy would not be a short-term one, and not end up being scrapped if the country sees a change in administration, or when a new education minister comes onboard.
Muhammad Hud Abdullah, 38, said he supported the use of English in teaching both subjects as it would ease his children’s transition from primary and secondary school, to tertiary level and later, to working life.
The father of two hoped that the reintroduction would be maintained, adding that indecisiveness on the part of policymakers would create confusion among students, parents and the education fraternity.
“It also reflects on their leadership quality, not to mention the waste of resources such as the printing of books and learning materials, and training of teachers.”
Hud said it was important for parents to support their children by speaking English at home to ensure that they could cope during lessons.
“Some children are not even exposed to basic English outside school, so when they go home, they don’t practise it at all. Without the parents’ support, it may be a challenge for some to master the language.”
Dayangku Marianah Pengiran Mahmuddin said she was cautious of the fact that this was yet another change in policy since the first decision in 2007.
The 44-year-old lawyer said her eldest child, aged 16, went through a year of PPSMI before switching back to Bahasa Melayu the following year.
“My two younger children are in a public school that doesn’t offer the Dual Language Programme for Maths and Science. So they have never been taught these subjects in English.
“I hope the current and future governments will not change the policy again in the next five years due to political pressure,” she told the New Straits Times yesterday.
She added that although she was fortunate that her children were fluent in English, she felt concerned if schools had sufficient resources to effectively teach the subjects in English.
“I also worry for schoolchildren outside urban areas and the mechanisms in place to enable all to learn in English.”
Salamiah Kalsom Hamid, 41, said while she supported the move, she feared that some students would not be able to catch up unless they had a good and supportive environment.
“Implementing PPSMI is good news but whether people on the ground can execute is a different matter.
“I believe it will provide students with opportunities to improve their command of the language, but I think the assessment should not be too rigid to evaluate their mastery of English in these subjects.”
She said it should be made a rule that whoever held office could no longer change policies according to their whims and fancies.
“To see real results, it should be given a 10-year period, for example, to determine if the policy is working or to see how it can be improved instead of scrapping it altogether.”
Hafeez Yunus agreed with the move to reintroduce PPSMI, saying that it should not have been scrapped in the first place.
“How can we produce a globally competitive workforce if our students cannot converse in English?”
Hafeez, a civil servant, urged the government to ensure that PPSMI remained a permanent policy rather than changing it every time the Education Ministry had a new “boss”.
“I am not happy with the fact that every time a new education minister comes to office, he will figure out a way to burden our children and the education system.”
He said he expected his four children to greatly benefit from the return of the policy.