Switch back to English for our economic well-being

Here is another compelling editorial from The Edge Financial Daily that needs to be reproduced in full for your edification:

Is the policy of teaching Science and Mathematics in English a failure, as a recent study by Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) concluded? The survey, highlighted in the New Sunday Times yesterday, found that the majority of some 5,800 schoolchildren who were put through Maths, Science and English tests fared poorly, scoring on average 7.89 out of 20, 4.08 out of 14 and 11.87 out of 31 for the three subjects, respectively.

Among the reasons highlighted was that many pupils in the sample, which was drawn from urban, rural and vernacular schools, could not understand the lessons. They could not understand because they have a poor command of English.

The study’s lead researcher, Prof Emeritus Datuk Isahak Haron, is convinced that the policy should be scrapped, and the teaching of Science and Maths should be switched back to Bahasa Malaysia.

That would, however, bring us back to square one.

It should be remembered that it was the erosion of the standard of English among school leavers, that had prompted the decision in 2002 to revert to the use of English in school, at least in the two subjects. The aim, obviously, was to undo the effects of changing the medium of instruction to Bahasa Malaysia starting from the early 1970s, notably on the country’s diminishing attractiveness as a destination for foreign investment.

Quite simply, the command of English among the majority of school leavers today is bad.

An embarrassing reminder of the problem is the recent advertorial in the same newspaper on the award of an honorary degree to the pro-chancellor of a university that was filled with examples of bad grammar. Such atrocious English at the tertiary level indicates that the situation is dire in schools.

Truly, this was just another instance that demonstrates the great damage done to national progress as a result of politically-motivated decision-making. Not only has there been an erosion of ethical values in the public sphere, but institutions like the police and judiciary have been compromised. It is no exaggeration to say that fundamental harm has also been done to the country’s image and advantage in the international sphere by the loss of our ability to speak and write good English. The implications for our economic future are not to be treated lightly.

Furthermore, it is time to acknowledge that the national language policy in schools has failed to achieve its stated goal of fostering national unity. As the government itself has admitted, 90% of non-Malay students do not enrol in national schools.

We believe that reverting to English as the medium of instruction as part of an overall reform to enhance the quality of national schools, will restore the racial balance in national schools and children of all races will learn to grow united through a natural process of intermingling.

Sadly, the indications from the UPSI study and the suggestion that we revert to totally having Bahsa Malaysia as the medium of instruction are that the mistakes of the past will be repeated. What we will end up with is neither a good mix of students of various races in our national schools nor students (our precious human capital) who can speak or write well in the international language of commerce.

Rather than a rollback, it would make more sense to liberalise the education system.

Let English be the medium of instruction once again, except for the teaching of languages. Simultaneously, schools that teach in Malay, Chinese, Tamil or other languages should be allowed to co-exist, and parents left to make the choice of where to send their children. The one-size-fits-all policy has failed us miserably.

We appeal to politicians and our national leaders to set aside politics and misplaced nationalistic jingoism and be bold and do the sensible thing. After all, many of them send their children overseas to be schooled in the English medium. Why should they deny thousands of Malaysians who can’t afford an overseas education to be schooled in English at home?