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Unesco have failed Malaysia by recommending that the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics is essential in English

We refer to the report, ‘Unesco goals fail, but must press on’ (NST Sept 28, 2011) in its plan to attain “Education For All (EFA)” by 2015 and ‘Malaysia’s tenure at Unesco highly successful’ (NST Sept 29, 2011), on its educational successes.

We, however, wonder if Unesco may have failed Malaysia by recommending that the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (Malay acronym, PPSMI) is best learnt in the mother tongue believing that the languages spoken by Malaysians are only Malay, Mandarin and Tamil.

This heavily influenced the decision made by the government to abolish PPSMI mid-way after a mere six years of implementation.

No other country in the world enjoys and celebrates diversity like in Malaysia. Malaysia’s education system is unique in that it originates from the British education system, which existed in this country much longer than its successor, the Malaysian national education system.

Many Malaysians had the privilege of learning in English medium schools (EMS) until 30 years ago. Many students in today’s schools have parents as well as grandparents who are the products of EMS, making the students’ mother tongue also English. This makes English not only a mother tongue language for many Malaysian households but also the second language of the nation after Malay.

In our letter to the director general of Unesco, Her Excellency Irina Bokova, dated Sept 19, 2011, and personally handed to Dr Lidia Brito, director, division of Science Policy and Sustainable Development, Natural Sciences Sector, representing Her Excellency at a recent international forum in Kuala Lumpur, we wrote, “Many parents are concerned over the direction of the Malaysian education system with its mission to achieve sustainable development in education and the provision of basic quality education.”

“The decision to abolish the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in English policy, in operation since 2003, has many parents in disagreement with the government’s decision. Parents want the policy to continue in the schools that can cope with this good policy.”

In the quest for providing equal opportunity for all, we see the value of PPSMI. The current school system is not only segregating the many races due to mother tongue type of schools but has also created a class barrier between the “haves” and the “have-nots”.

The “haves” are the elite, high income households made up of 20% of Malaysia’s population. They are able to afford private and international school education with English being its main medium of instruction while the “have-nots”, comprising the remaining 80% who do not have the same opportunity, are further segregated by the types of mother tongue schools available, making racial segregation, a clear and present danger.

The damage that has been done in segregating the races and dividing between the “haves” and “have-nots” is incalculable, putting children in harm’s way of cultivating ignorance, intolerance and fear of the unknown.

The words of Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak that, “We must shun the instinctive primordial tendency to retreat into the familiar shell of narrow nationalism and protectionism. Rather we must meet this challenge head on by collaborating to steer the process towards a more sustainable, equitable and just outcome,” still remains to be proven.

Our recommended solution to Malaysia’s educational predicament is to make the national school, the school of choice. By having the option of Science and Mathematics in English, the national school will be much more desirable for all ethnicities and social strata. This is of utmost importance for national integration.

We would like for this country to achieve quality education and reduce inequality between the various communities and societal classes. Our free and peaceful future depends on it.

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