KUALA LUMPUR (July 28, 2009): A group of parents have initiated a signature campaign to urge the Education Ministry to give the option to schools to teach science and mathematics in English.
A joint statement issued by the parents said: "Malaysia has a large number of families whose mother tongue is English. Let them have the choice to teach their children in their mother tongue."
At a press conference held at Sekolah Seri Suria, a private school in Hulu Langat, a spokesman for the group, Shariran Shaari , said: "We are not against the government’s plan to revert the teaching of science and mathematics to Bahasa Malaysia but we are urging the government to at least give the option to the students to choose whether they want to learn the subjects in English or Bahasa Malaysia."
He said there are 1,500 students studying in the school and a majority of them speaks English.
"Bahasa Malaysia is our national language whereas English is the global and cyberspace language and at Seri Suria, we place equal importance on both the languages," Shariran said.
He said that initially, he was upset when the government announced that the subjects will be taught in Bahasa Malaysia again in 2012, but after reading various reports and opinions online, he "realised the difficulties faced by the schools in the rural areas".
"However, there are several schools that have adapted well in learning both the subjects in English. Likewise, many of the students here (at Seri Suria) are doing well in both the subjects in English," he said.
The school has sufficient resources and teachers who can teach the subjects in English and the students have shown good progress in their examination results.
The parents have obtained more than 450 signatures from parents, whose children are studying in Seri Suria, and they will be sending a memorandum to urge the ministry to allow the students to continue learning science and mathematics in English.
Another parent, Elizabeth George, said they are also concerned about their children’s future.
"When you talk to people in the jobs market or employers, they say that those who cannot communicate in English are completely left out. Although they possess professional skills, they are not compatible with those who possess both skills and language proficiency.
"Thus, the future of our children is at stake."
source:SUN2SURF
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