Since the implementation of Teaching Mathematics and Science in English (PPSMI) in year 2003, it has become a hot issue in Malaysia especially among educationalists and also parents. From time to time, there are always either individuals or interest groups who attack the policy with a barrage of criticism. Even members among the government itself are arguing among each other, either in the hope of preserving the status of their mother tongue or to gain political mileage.
While announcing to the nation regarding on the abolishment of the policy, Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said that the government will have enough time to improve the teaching in English, followed by the teachng of Mathematics and Science in Bahasa Malaysia in 2012.
As we know, most specialized terms and jargons in these two subjects are using English as the medium universally. In order for students to be able to communicate more effectively in understanding, the suitable language as the medium plays a crucial role. Viewing from the global perspective, teaching Science and Mathematics in English will definitely enhance interaction among the intellectuals and eventually, this prepares students for tertiary education as well as in their respective fields. This was one of the major concerns driven by the government when the policy was first introduced.
At the very first thought, teaching Science and Mathematics should be fully utilized to improve the strategy of teaching in English. Much effort was put in during the early stages of the implementation. Based on the result from the short lifespan 6-year experiment with PPSMI, the reverting seems to be taken place too fast a time.
Using a comment given by Muhyiddin in his speech, he expressed that in order to survive in the highly competitive environment, the nation itself should be always 'one step ahead' than what we have now. This revert somehow contradicts the viewpoint he made. The reason behind, again, we refer back to the factor of laguange use in the global arena. Instead of limiting the education exposure to the regional lingua franca, wouldn't it better if we prepare the future generation for the international lingua franca?
The right to amend the policy remains in the hand of the government. Any form of education policy that is being constructed, it will definitely result in dissent among particular groups of people as win-win situation does not take place nine times out of ten. Thus, it brings us to the second thought that for an education policy to perform well, it should conform to the needs of the people, considering the applicability in a particular context and time. It could be a sign that has been rectified by the educationalists among governmental agencies that our education system might not be ready for PPSMI, just yet.
