THE raging debate over the Teaching of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) is unlikely to simmer down despite the Government’s unequivocal stand that there will be no policy reversal.
The protagonists have fought long and hard in a battle where, sadly, the real victims are our young generation, whose voices are not heard.
Those who speak on their behalf, from either side, must understand that there are long-term consequences when policy changes are made at this level, more so in the field of education.
The voices we hear in this newspaper, and in cyberspace, understandably, favour the English language proponents. To their opponents, their outreach is limited to urban, middle-class families where English is almost like their mother tongue, whatever their ethnicity.
Those who speak on behalf of the rest of the country, therefore, claim that simply in terms of numbers, reverting to teaching Science and Mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia is the obvious solution.
There are merits to both sides of the arguments but the battle continues not so much in terms of what is good for our children and our country in the long term, but what is politically expedient in the short term.
Categories: Malaysia