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(1)English: Beware of hasty implementation, 16 june 2009
by Khaw Veon Szu, Teo Lee Ken
The move to consider making it compulsory for students to obtain a pass in English in order to pass their SPM is a thought worthy of practice and should be looked into critically.
Whereas a pass in Bahasa Malaysia is necessary as it is the official language of the nation and a language used by all Malaysians, a pass in English is also necessary as it is the lingua franca of the world we live in today.
It must be noted however that this move must be carried out within the background of a teaching workforce that is outstanding and of the highest calibre. In other words, we would need teachers whose understanding and comprehension of English is impeccable.
As with many policies that we have undertaken previously it is vital that we would first have to honestly answer this, ‘Are we capable of implementing this policy?' And if the answer is no then we have to ask ourselves, ‘Why?'
It would appear that we are not capable of implementing this move anytime now or in the near future. Many quarters that are supportive of this move have reservations and doubts as to whether this move can be effectively implemented. Existing circumstances point out to us that the standard of written and spoken English in public schools and local universities is totally outrageous.
The earlier policy of using Bahasa Malaysia as a medium of instruction, rightly or wrongly, has created a generation of individuals who can neither speak good BM nor good English. It is of this that we are most fearful. Without unyielding implementation, any idea whether good or bad, will ultimately turn out to be dreadful. And this is our specialty.
The next question to be asked then is why? This is without a doubt due to our education system. There are many inherent structural and mechanical flaws in the system that we have now.
Other than the values of critical thinking and profound understanding that we have not adopted as the basis of what the whole education system should be based upon, the level of competence of those in the teaching profession whether in schools or local universities is generally mediocre.
The very fact that the system we have at the moment is not capable of implementing this move now goes only to show that there has been something very wrong with our education system from the beginning. If not, the question of why we are not capable of implementing this move would not have crop up.
Hence while this is a good move worth implementing, the government must not be hasty in rushing through this fundamental policy change without take note of structural problems like the urban-rural divide and the quality of teaching staff. It is here also that the education ministry should be commended for their open and constructive consultation practice.
The command of language is important as it forms the core of which all other fields of thought and understanding depend on. As philosophy is important for it forms the fundamental of every field of study we have today, language is pertinent to ensure the comprehension of philosophy and knowledge. In this sense, other than Bahasa Malaysia, the learning and command of English is therefore essential.
A move to make a pass in English compulsory only serves to reflect this appreciation.
There are only but a few languages that can express the complexities and dynamism of the modern world and English is one of them. Command of English will allow the mastering of these complexities. Making a pass compulsory will expedite the command of English.
The English language accommodates many terms that we need to understand if we are to answer the call of our nation in moving to the forefront of every known field and at the same time to discover new fields.
Existential guilt, the other, transcendental, a priori, utilitarianism, thing in itself, and perspectivism and deconstruction are among some of the terms that have only been able to be understood adequately within the English language, which is most common to us, and a few other languages.
The notion that by doing this we are turning our backs on our mother tongue, or that we are learning the language of the colonisers or that we are the victims of language colonisation can no longer be accepted.
We should be able to move beyond this notion. Learning a language will not result in that but incompetence and backwardness will.
The writers are executive director and intern, respectively at Sedar Institute.
(2)English - Don't disadvantage the rural kids, 17 June 2009
by Peter Ooi
I refer to the letter Most retired English teachers are still very fit to teach.
I believe the writer must be living in a city and is very detached from life in the rural areas. First and foremost, when I mention that some of the rural children could not recite the alphabet, I was trying to show how much handicapped the rural children are when they go to school compared to those from the urban areas.
If the writer cares to venture into the rural areas, he would be surprised at the number of disadvantaged children there. Many of their parents spend the whole day slogging for a few ringgit just to put two meals, very basic ones for that matter, on the table.
Do you think that such parents are capable of sending their children to Montessori kindergartens or Smart Learning? And do you think that such children would know the alphabet? The writer did not really grasp what I was trying to get at.
If Science and Maths were to be taught in English, those rural kids with little or no exposure to the language will definitely be at an disadvantage. Let me illustrate with a simple example: A mammal is a warm-blooded animal. For those who know basic English, they would know at least three of the terms, namely warm, blood and animal.
For a student with no basic English, the whole sentence is Greek to him. On this score, is it fair to the poor student? If those two subjects are taught in English, it is just like asking a rural kid to run a 100 metre race without a starting block and a pair of spikes while the urban kid is well-equipped with both of them.
The writer went on to say: ‘But these are the same people who extol the good old days when our ‘standard of English was second to none in this region if not in the Commonwealth. I would like to ask, how many people who benefitted from that period had parents who spoke English? Not my parents'.
I agree wholeheartedly with that statement. My parents, too, spoke no English. But the writer fails to see that times have changed. In those ‘good old days', almost every parent was struggling just to eke out a meagre living. Almost every child, save a few privilleged ones, spent their time flying kites or catching fighting fish.
Kindergarten was unheard of then. Many children did not know the importance of education let alone its aim. As such, almost every one went to school on an equal footing. There weren't much advantages of one over the other. Problems encountered by children then were common to one and all.
Hardly anyone went to tuition classes or had personal tutors , a practice very prevalent among children in the cities nowadays.As a result, practically almost all the children then progressed at the same rate. And those left behind were the really very weak ones
The truth of the matter is, even if we revert the teaching of maths and science to Bahasa Malaysia so that some will not be at a ‘distinct disadvantage' in school, they will eventually be in adult life.
There is no denying that English is the language of science and commerce both locally and internationally. I am fully suportive of of making English a compulsory pass for the SPM or even the STPM. It is the very reason that I suggest that retired English teachers be reemployed to teach the language for a start. Those were the very teachers educated and trained in the said medium.
By now, almost everyone knows that our English standard has gone down the drain and our so-called educationists are directionless. It would be helpful if they could ask for assistance from our sothern neighbour whose standard of English is very high.
Adopt their syllabus wholesale if possible. All we have to do is ask. Teaching English as a subject and science and maths in the mother tongue would do away with any disadvantages. Here, the students would have the best of both worlds.
They would understand the subjects better and by the time they reach upper secondary school, they would be able to write and converse in English as well. Armed with a fairly good command of English then, I believe the students would be capable of understanding science and mathematics in English.
After all, the terminology in those two subjects are universal in nature and the language used is fairly simple. At the same time, they will be prepared for their working life. What would the scenario be like if the present system continues?
The rural kids would lose interest in Science and Maths simply because they cannot grasp what is taught. At the same time, they will also not learn English. Thus, those children would be condemned to doing the same backbreaking jobs as their fathers. A farmer's son would remain a farmer and that of a fisherman would still be a fisherman.
On the other hand, professional courses in universities would remain the domain of children of the rich. I am sure the writer would not like this to happen. And I believe he suscribes to the idea of a level playing field for all irrespective of race or religion.
So spare a thoughts for those not-so-lucky ones. Give them a fair chance to succeed in life.
(3)Deal with language issues sans emotions, 17 June 2009
by D Robertson Paul
Since independence, the problem of education has never been properly settled even after fifty years of freedom. There have been changes and changes and changes (all to no avail) to satisfy the multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural people of Malaysia.
The bone of contention among the various ethnic and racial groupings, it appears, is the language of instruction to be used in our educational institutions. From the outset of this letter, it must be remembered that language is emotive and must never be treated lightly in a diverse population such as ours.
It is nonsense to say that any one language is superior to another and therefore must be used at the expense of all other languages. This is what Barisan Nasional has done and it has not got into their heads that they have failed.
They are not able to view the question objectively without any emotional attachment to the subject. The failure to address this problem all these many years has resulted in unsatisfactory education at all levels of our educational system. Standards have been compromised and the staffing of schools, colleges and universities do not represent the multi-racial character of our nation.
Neither merit nor suitability are considered when appointing staff to the various educational institutions. A big factor in the rot of our educational system seems to be the obsession with race, religion and language coupled with the ‘Ketuanan Melayu concept'.
Let's backtrack to our pre-Independence days when Malaysia really had some of the finest schools in the British Empire outside of Britain and later in the Commonwealth of Nations. What happened after independence is a very sad story known only to octogenarians like this writer and those over fifty years of age.
The rest can only salivate and blink with awe when they hear stories of our ‘good old days' at school where each and every child had a ‘fair go' in education without any of the kind of baggage of race, religion and language implanted in their minds. Herein lies the problem in our education system at all levels from primary to tertiary.
Coming to the core of the problem of education standards, we have to ask ourselves whether we are satisfied with the level and quality of education our children are getting in our schools, colleges and universities. Obviously not. There are serious reservations over the existence of separate vernacular schools for the Chinese and Tamil populations of the country.
Not only do standards and quality differ, it is claimed that they are a hindrance to nation-building and thus the need for a single-school system where Bahasa will be the main language, if not the only language of instruction. Herein, lies the greatest hurdle for reform in our education system - whether Bahasa, English or any of the vernacular languages should be used as the medium of instruction.
Ignoring Bahasa, as it is the national language, will be sensitive and thus its suitability or otherwise vis-a-vis the other languages cannot be objectively discussed without fanning emotional outbursts from race-based politicians and racists who cannot differentiate between black and white when sensitive issues are raised.
The English language opened our doors to the outside world. Without the English language, Malaysia would not have made the progress it made till about the time of independence. However, when the English language had to take second place because of Merdeka and Bahasa Malaysia, the slide in education began.
It did not cause much difficulty in the beginning but after 1970, when the switch to Bahasa was completely made, then deterioration really set in. Three and a half decades later, we see that this policy had not been wise. Instead, we are looking at bringing back the English language to teach the core subjects of science and mathematics once again.
Countries all over the world are wanting their citizens to learn the English language. Can we afford to lose out because of our lack of knowledge of the English language? Surely not, unless we wish to bury our heads in the sand like the proverbial ostrich and believe that only Bahasa can enrich our lives and bring in prosperity.
So far it hasn't worked and that's why there are feeble cries from some Malay politicians, lest they be deemed traitors, asking the government to take another look at educational policies and make the necessary adjustments for a fast-changing world.
This doesn't mean that Bahasa must take second place. English must be made equal to it in importance as well as with Chinese and Tamil. In short, all these four languages must be treated equally as provided for in the federal constitution.
We cannot afford to have children coming out of our schools knowing only one language nor graduates from our universities who cannot communicate in the English language effectively. This is the crux of our problem where our education policies have not only been unsatisfactory but foolish as well
Having said all the above, we must now take a look at the number of our school-going children who are seeking an education abroad. There are no figures to indicate to which country our children are going for both schooling and tertiary-level education. However, we know that a very large number of our children are being sent abroad for studies as their parents are not satisfied with the present education system.
Living here in Johor Baru, this writer has observed that a large number of our students cross the causeway daily to attend school in Singapore. Busloads of children are ferried across as early as 5am while some children pillion ride on motor-cycles in order to get an education in Singapore. The figure could run into the thousands.
The authorities have not bothered to ask why this must be so and take the necessary steps to keep our young children here. Aren't our schools good enough? Why the craze for an education in another country? Surely, there must be something wrong with which the parents are not happy about.
Obviously, our education standards are unsatisfactory. Just as the ringgit has deteriorated to the level RM2.40 to the Singapore dollar, so has our education level plummeted whether we wish to admit it or not. Our premier university - the University of Malaya - the pride of our nation in education is ranked 240 in the international rankings of universities.
If that is the case, what can anyone say about the level of the other institutions of learning in the country? Our politicians must wake up and address this glaring rot in the education system that has gone on since the 70s.
It needs urgent attention without any politicking nor emotions attached to any language whatsoever, failing which there'll surely be a further drop and deterioration in standards in our schools, colleges and universities.
We must aim at international recognition for Malaysian certificates, diplomas and degrees. Only then can have pride in our education system whatever the medium of instruction.
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