KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government is still collecting data and opinions regarding the use of English as the medium of instruction for Mathematics and Science subjects in secondary schools.
State Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Mohd Arifin Mohd Arif said the matter had been raised and answered in the recent state assembly sitting.
"We are studying about it. This matter has been brought up in Education and Health clusters.
"We have also collected data and opinions. There is a need to do a study before we make any decision.
"It is in the study stage now, as we want to know what challenges we would face. For example, the national policy of the federal government in terms of the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examination, the universities which are using Malay... these are challenges," he said.
Speaking to the media after chairing the fortnightly meeting on the Sabah Education Fund, Arifin said the study would also discuss whether to revive standardised assessments for Primary Six and Form Three students.
The Malaysian government had scrapped the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) and Pentaksiran Tingkatan Tiga (PT3) as the Education Ministry was in favour of school-based assessments.
Earlier this month, Sarawak had announced that these subjects would be taught in English in secondary schools.
This would be an extension of the current policy of using English as the medium of instruction for these subjects in primary schools there.
Last year, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof had said that the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) secretariat would be looking into giving Sabah and Sarawak partial autonomy in education and health matters.