The Unexpected
During the process of reviewing, the various relevant parties should have offered their professional views, including the NUTP's insistence that English be kept as teaching medium for science and maths in secondary schools.
By HWN YAUL LEN/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily
The policy of teaching science and maths in English will be fully reverted to its 2003 model, something like buy-one-get-one-free.
You want the primary schools to be restored to their old shape, but I'm giving you the secondary schools as well.
Satisfied?
Not really, but a bit out of everyone's expectation.
The first unexpectedness: even the secondary schools will now be back to their old form.
The controversies over the past few years have mainly revolved around the teaching of scicene and maths in primary schools, and what language should be used as the teaching medium.
Many people focus the argument on the primary schools but do not object to the teaching of science and maths in English in secondary schools.
It should have been a bold move for the education ministry to be willing to review the policy of teaching these two subjects in English.
But since the first bold step has been taken, why not do a more comprehensive review and come up with the best decision, something everyone can accept?
I have no idea what has actually happened (as we don't know what has been debated in the Cabinet or whether such issue has been debated at all), the new policy always seems to leave some to be desired!
Educational policies have far-fetching effects on our future generations and must therefore be well thought out before they are put into implementation.
During the process of reviewing, the various relevant parties should have offered their professional views, including the NUTP's insistence that English be kept as teaching medium for science and maths in secondary schools.
Having made some concession, Dr Mahathir insisted that even if science and maths are not going to be taught in English in primary schools, at least the policy should be implemented in secondary schools.
But the education ministry's final decision is to put everything back to square one.
This is utterly disappointing. Even our secondary school students today would shake in disbelief how their juniors are going to learn science and maths in BM in the future. Do the Bahasa textbooks have enough of vocabulary? How about connection with tertiary education next time?
The second unexpectedness: Cabinet ministers and party leaders do not voice any dissident view.
Cabinet ministers accept the decision gleefully. They also do not object to the teaching of science and maths in Bahasa in secondary schools, arguing that this is the best ever decision and all controversies should now be put to a stop.
Anyway, the fact is: everything will now be put back to square one!
But is this really the best decision?
The initiator of all this, Dr Mahathir is frustrated that the government takes away the policy he implemented years ago, and laments that the children have been made the guinea pigs.
It is indeed a sad development, be it in Mahathir's time or Najib's time!
