Currently the decision stands as it is and students in Form 4 (2012) will learn Maths and Science in Bahasa. However, the Ministry will fine-tune the process to accommodate students in the transitional period." -The Star Online.
I've decided to post my own thoughts regarding this issue because I feel strongly about it. Buzz off if you are some racist, nationalist, or someone who cannot think straight due to external influence.
Amazing, superb. The Ministry have some magic wand where at a wave, student's will be able to study Maths and Science in Bahasa again after nine long years of effort. If that can be done, why not use the "wand" to help students cope with Maths & Science in English?
The education policies in Malaysia has been changed time and again, in response to the politic needs in Malaysia. Tun Mahathir proposed the idea of M&S in English at the end of his political career, leaving his successors to clean up to mess. Truth is, the sudden change in the medium to teach left many new teachers incapacitated. But of course, with many hours of "kursus", we expected the horizon to brighten, didn't we? One of my friends had no teacher for biology for half a year during his form four year, but it's all for the greater good, right?
But oh no, the results are plunging. Short-sighted as ever, the goverment panicked. The medium must be the problem, was the general consensus. No one gave a second thought about the competancy of the new teachers. Allow me to highlight this, during the last years of my secondary education, most of the more experienced teachers were retiring one by one. Coming into the picture were those who not only can hardly speak English, but cannot teach as well. When I say they cannot teach, I don't mean they cannot teach in English, I mean they cannot teach either way. Severely lacking teaching skills, and only half-bucket-water of technical knowledge, they invaded the schools to kill the future of the students. Okay sorry, that was a little heavy, but please understand that, without placing the medium as the scapegoat, our education system is screwed up already. It's just unfortunate that the change of medium coincided with the generation change of teachers. I do not see the experienced teachers struggling when the medium for S&M was changed back to English.
Another amazing thing is that, the government is actually fighting for better English standards. Wow. More English periods, help the rural children. Well, English is important not only because it's the international language, but its also the bloody lingua franca of Maths and Science. The teaching of S&M will only enforce the student's command of the language. But of course, with the Malaysia Boleh optimism, the government are expecting around 3000 prominent scientists from Malaysia to emerge by the next 2 decades, all of them publishing their work in Bahasa. Then Malaysia will be a hub for education, and the world will kneel to the power of Bahasa. Hohoho, very convenient indeed. 2020 accomplished in one sweeping policy, and dear Mr Muhyiddin will "disanjungi" for eternity.
Let's get down to the root of the problem, shall we? The issue has been well discussed, so much so that no one notices it already. The intake of rubbish teachers. Believe you me, I had written a good amount of karangan regarding this issue. From the cerpen "Serunai Malam" in "Anak Laut", the teaching professional "dianggap tiada glamour". Teaching, to the general public, is a cheap government post to just "makan gaji buta" nowadays. The problem got worse due to difficult children and parents alike nowadays as well. It kills the teaching profession. If the goverment are to make new policies, they should be policies aimed to solve this problem. Inexperience can be helped, but lack of motivation cannot. Again, believe it or not, I was very interested in teaching, but the thought of having to teach kids in Bahasa isn't too alluring to me.
To put it simply, problem consists of=10% medium difficulty for students, 10% medium difficulty for teachers and 80% due to noob teachers. (Figures are approximations, I will not be held responsible if this figure somehow causes you harm or aggrieved you in any way). Goverment policy now is aimed at helping the 20% that are facing complications due to language. And of course, the bigger picture, the 80%, is overlooked. The policy WILL help out the 20%, but kill away the future where Malaysia can "berdiri sama tinggi, duduk sama rendah" and "bersaing di persada antarabangsa".
On the other hand, I recognises that the majority of the students having trouble are from the rural areas in Malaysia. The policy might be implented due to concerns that the education gap between rural and urban areas might widen, in addition to the economic gap. A mere college student, I can offer no solution to this problem, but this new policy will be just like the controversial NEP, which only offers a short term solution to a major problem. In exchange of a superficial national harmony, we are sacrificing the growth of the country, and we are actually proud of it.
Please do not get me wrong, I am not in support of any political party, and I love the nation and Mr Najib, but this issue was handled with too little consultation from the public. Please, continue the education of Science and Maths in English, at least at the secondary level, because as Eng Wee aptly put it, Education in English policy will behave like a J-curve, whereas the policy to revert to Bahasa is an inverted J-curve.
This policy reminds me of a saying, available in a few languages, signifying it's importance. "Mahu berak baru cari jamban", "Ai pang sai baru che jamban", and a few others. To put it simply, the education system in Malaysia is now full of "lubang jamban"s, and the addition of another one is well.., just another one.
Disclaimer: Saya berniat baik, jangan tangkap saya tuan. =)
PS: Taylor's should really give each class a air-con remote. Wastage of resources will not a trivial issue by the next few decades.
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