Najib defends scrapping PPSMI, ignores Dr M
By Syed Jaymal Zahiid, The Malaysian Insider
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today completely ignored the concerns of his endorser Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and defended the government's call to scrap the teaching of maths and science in English (PPSMI).
This is perhaps a sign that Dr Mahathir's influence over Najib is slowly waning.
Najib today said discarding the PPSMI, a programme Dr Mahathir introduced when he was prime minister, was a sound decision in light of its failed objectives.
The prime minister reasoned that although the government will discontinue the programme, its objectives will remain.
"Its spirit and objectives remain the same, we are just changing the approach," he told a press conference at his office here.
He said the government has introduced other measures to improve the standard of English among the country's students through the employment of quality teachers.
Currently, out of the more than 30,000 English teachers nationwide, the prime minister said only eight per cent were confident enough to carry out the PPSMI.
