Pengajaran Dan Pembelajaran Sains Dan Matematik Dalam Bahasa Inggeris

I had attended a roundtable discussion on the future direction of PPSMI yesterday at the Putrajaya International Conference Centre. It was organised by the Ministry of Education to get feedback from political leaders, NGOs, special interest groups including teachers groups, parents, students and so on about the future of PPSMI. I was informed that yesterday’s roundtable discussion was the fourth and final roundtable talk, mainly attended by Barisan Nasional political leaders and State Education EXCO, Pakatan Rakyat representatives, NGOs, NUTP and Parents’ Groups.

Before I go further, a bit of background on PPSMI. PPSMI or the usage of English to teach Maths and Science was introduced in 2003. Since the announcement, there have been a whole load of debate on this issue – whether it is the right move or not, will our children suffer because of this policy, that it is a step back for all other languages, because everything is in English, then Malay, Mandarin, Tamil and the cultures will suffer and so on. The list of negatives were endless. So were the positives – the lingua franca today is English, the scientific language of today is English, we will lose competitiveness in the world if our children are not proficient in English and the scientific language and so on.

In fact, whenever the topic PPSMI creeps into a discussion, seldom you will get everyone agreeing to a point. Same scenario yesterday. So many ideas and opinions surfaced yesterday. Let me list some of them for you:-

i. Totally scrap PPSMI and revert to pre-PPSMI years. It does not matter the amount of money already spent the last 6 years (RM5.2b for the equipment, teaching aids and teachers’ training and allowances) and that one generation of students have gone through it;

ii. Follow through as it is – don’t quit. Obviously it hurts and there will be a lot of resistance initially but things are improving.

iii. Continue with the dual language option.

iv. Discontinue PPSMI at primary level but proceed at secondary level.

v. Continue PPSMI with adjustments and strengthen implementation.

There was this one Interest Group – Parents Action Group for Education or ‘PAGE’ which stood resolutely that PPSMI should continue. In fact they came up with a list of factual arguments to support their ‘appeal’. They also told the audience yesterday, since they started work a month ago and reached out to other PIBGs and schools in the last two weeks, about 68 schools with a total of 56,000 students have signed up to support their cause.

I was impressed with their work and the response they got in a short span of time. Does this mean the parents, public and rakyat in general actually want PPSMI? And that those who are against it are certain groups who are scared that PPSMI will overwhelm them, or their culture, or whatever else they are afraid of? Are these groups resisting PPSMI because they do not want to learn to change?

I for one would like to give them more time and see what kind of response they get throughout the country. I hope they do not focus on urban schools only. They should also get the response from rural based and vernacular schools. As a politician, who else can we get feedback from if not the Rakyat!

Anyway, I want to give my two cents worth on this matter. PPSMI is actually a good policy. It would help our children to learn and understand the scientific language, and even to an extent conversational English. More than 90% of Mathematics or Science Journals / Research are in English. And obviously we need English to compete with the rest.

I want PPSMI to continue, albeit with some adjustments and strengthening the implementation. Yes, I was the culprit who introduced Option 5 to the Roundtable discussion.

This is my proposal.

Year 1 to Year 3 - PPSMI should be more fun based. Lessons should be
very light. Just to learn the terminologies of things and names of animals, hand, feet, eyes and so on. Teachers should also have lessons out of classroom to teach the environment. The approach should be creative – games, songs and what nots. And it should be interactive.

No exams at this level.

Year 4 – Year 6 - Students should be more exposed to the usage of
simple equations, simple formulas and simple problem solving. The approach should still be creative and interactive but no songs and games. More classroom style.

This is a transition period. Exams should be customised accordingly.

At Primary level, the Ministry of Education (MOE) should allow the usage of dual language for all schools.

Form 1 – Form 6 Full implementation of PPSMI, use English.

Apart from this, I would like to suggest the following:-

i. The MOE should also strengthen the English curriculum as a subject.

ii. The minimum qualification for the intake of new trainee teachers to teach under PPSMI scheme must be high. For example, at least a Credit 3 in SPM English. The same criteria must be observed for Science and Maths too. It is of utmost importance that the teachers have the subject matter fully in their grasp before they can teach.

iii. Five / Six of the Teachers’ Traning Institute (IPG or Academic Faculty in IPTAs) be focussed fully on the training of Trainee Teachers to teach PPSMI.

iv. Training and Retraining for teachers already in service should be more effective.

v. The MOE should also focus on schools identified to be weak such as in rural areas, urban poor areas and so on. More allocation and good teachers should be given to these schools.

I want to do something like an opinion poll here. Please leave comments, opinions, your thoughts and ideas on the post. I will gather all these comments (whether positive or negative) and forward them to YB Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin and MOE officers. Let’s get our voices heard by the decision makers.

So everyone, what do you have to say about PPSMI?