PPSMI

Lately, all the attention have been turned towards the happenings in Perak. From the party hopping incidents to the fall of the Pakatan Rakyat lead government to the emergency assembly under the tree. Indeed, it has been a interesting period for those who love drama. And more is to follow. Nevertheless, there is also one other issue that concerns us, the PPSMI.

PPSMI stands for Pengajaran Dan Pembelajaran Sains Dan Matematik Dalam Inggeris (http://www.moe.gov.my/tayang.php?laman=ppsmi&unit=guru&bhs=en). Since a few years back, our country has started adopting English as the medium for Mathematics and Science education. The decision was made 'based on the government’s concern on the nation’s human capital development towards achieving the standard of a developed country, as well as an early preparation to compete in the era of globalization'. It has just been implemented for less than 5 years but certain group of people are already rejecting the effort of the government.

Mostly of the people objecting it thinks that the change of medium will cause the Malay language to be destroyed(hancur as they say). Apart from that, they think that this policy wil benefit those from the city more than people from the rural areas where 70% of the population are Malays. There are also a few other arguements that are brought up.

Personally, I think that it is too early to judge whether this policy is effective or not. The group of people protesting are only thinking that teaching in English is hurting their mother tongue. What our country lack currently are capable teachers who can teach well in English. Teachers who struggle to master the English language should be sent to follow courses to improve tmeselves. I feel that a teacher are responsible for making sure that they are capable and can master the English language. As for the rural area, there are some projects being done to improve the condition such as the 'Project to improve English in rural schools' (PIERS) which was implemented in Negri Sembilan. Instead of whining, I believe that we should think of ways to improve the project. What do you all think?

Regarding the article which is very critical of the project, go to http://www.pkpim.net/v2/info/memorandum/72-menolok-usaha-meneruskan-ppsmi.html