Malaysia: English in Schools

[Francis Hult]

Malaysia Today

 

English in Schools

 

Scrap the policy of teaching Science and Mathematics in English and bring back Bahasa Melayu as the medium of instruction in the education system, said Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. 

 

He also called for the return of Bahasa Melayu's status as the supreme language, which includes using it as the medium to teach Science and Maths in national schools and also strengthening its usage in Chinese and Tamil schools.

 

"This issue has become a controversy for far too long. We consider this policy a betrayal of Bahasa Melayu as our official language," he told a press conference yesterday. 

Anwar, however, conceded that it was important to master English and agreed that there should be constructive steps taken to improve the usage and understanding of the language.

 

"But how we do it should be decided by educationists and with consideration towards the national education policy. This includes not forcing our children to pass English as a compulsory subject in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) as this will result in many students, especially in rural areas, to fail," added Anwar.

 

Full story:

http://mt.m2day.org/2008/content/view/23723/84/

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