NOW that it is 2008, it should be full steam ahead for the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English.

But is the policy being fully implemented in all schools, particularly in primary schools?

I’m afraid not. I know because I am a mother of a child attending a primary school in central Pahang.

Teachers there use Bahasa Malaysia with a smattering of English to justify their work in teaching these two subjects.

In teaching Science, not a single experiment was carried out. Children lose out on precious hours of exposure to the knowledge and language of their Science lessons. Mathematics is also in a sorry state.

Aren’t these teachers hand-picked to attend courses to conduct classes? What about monitoring?

Does anybody from the Education Ministry or education department care to do spot checks on these classes?

The headmaster is a well-meaning man who wants the best for his school.

But alas, since he himself speaks pidgin English, I’m sure he’s too shy to confront his staff on their lack of initiative.

People have to realise that primary school is where the maximum amount of learning can take place.

It is where pupils learn to have a good grasp of English as well as get the basics right in learning Mathematics and Science.

I urge the Education Ministry to bring in contract teachers who are proficient in the language to aid the school system.

An excellent policy requires rigorous implementation to make it a success. Leaving it to language-deficient teachers to pretend to teach is doing more harm than good.

M.M., Temerloh

Source: NST – February 12, 2008