THE step taken by the Sarawak government to start the teaching of math and science in English next year is causing concerns. The first concern is whether the teachers involved have enough time to master the subjects in English as it is said the training of these teachers only started in August. Furthermore text books are still not available at the moment. To ensure students master their subjects, the most important influence is the teachers. If the teachers themselves are not comfortable with the terms and the language, they won’t be able to impart the knowledge effectively to the students.
What is the future like for students who come from 219 SJKCs . PAS does wonder why the SJKCs are given the green light not to teach math and science in English. Why do we have two systems in the state? If it is compulsory why not make it compulsory for all schools? When the students from SJKCs study in the secondary schools in the future, they would be at a loss, as we believe In 2027 when these batch goes to form one, all secondary schools in Sarawak will start teaching math and science in English too. (Or are secondary schools expected to have different class for them?) For PAS when a programme is announced, a thorough study should have been done.
Education is a field which would have a big impact on the society. It is hoped that the state government has also studied the impact of PPSMI on Sarawak students’ achievements as well when it was implemented prior to making this decision. PAS believes what Sarawakians need is a solid data and figures , together with a concrete plan for these students until they reach secondary schools. Then only people could rest assured that this is not another plot in a drama which keeps on having the theme of ” poor english mastery causes all problems in life”.
At the same time we in PAS do wonder how come schools in Finland, South Korea and Japan ( just to name a few) consistently continue teaching math and science in their own languages, and still ranked better in the world education. A point to ponder.
MUKHTAR SUHAILI
Deputy Commissioner 1, PAS Sarawak – HARAKAHDAILY 27/10/2019
