THE Education Ministry’s move of allowing schools to decide on whether Mathematics and Science should be taught in English or Bahasa Malaysia until 2013 for primary schools and 2021 for secondary schools, has created some unhappiness.
I am a trainee teacher at a secondary school and I was approached recently by a group of Form Four students for Maths help in English simply because their teacher had been teaching the subject in Bahasa Malaysia.
The students in the class had unanimously requested for the subject to be taught in English. However their teacher ignored the request.
These students are from one of the better classes and since they had been taught the subject in English, should not the school authorities continue doing so?
The same school is also offering Maths in Bahasa Malaysia for other Form Four students who are not as proficient in English. These students had requested for the subject to be taught in Bahasa Malaysia.
While I know that exams in both subjects are conducted bilingually, the government’s stand on the issue has allowed some teachers to arbitrarily decide on their individual language of choice and not that of the students.
Many students are not getting the grades they expect because of the language “switch” and if left unchecked, could lead to further problems.
YS LEE Source: The STAR Online Home Education August 26, 2012