I am one ofmillion parents who are angry with the government because this about-turn in policy will be a setback for our children.'

Don't brand pro-PPSMI group 'selfish middle-class'

PKR is against PPSMI, says Nik Nazmi

Mohd Hashim Shaari: Learning Maths and Science in English will not improve our children's English and this should be taken out of the debate.

English is the lingua franca of science, technology, medicine, law, commerce, diplomacy, etc and is mandatory for students who wish to pursue these courses and succeed in their career.

Parents who want the teaching of these subjects in English to continue should not be branded "the minority English-speaking urban middle-class" who are selfish. I am one of these parents who are angry with the government because this about-turn in policy after nine years of implementation will be a setback for our children.

We don't have an issue if Bahasa Malaysia instead of English was used to teach Maths and Science and continue to do so.

The best solution would be to allow all types of schools (Malay, English, Mandarin, Tamil, Arabic, French, Spanish, Russian, etc) to be set up and operate in Malaysia and let parents decide what's best for their children in terms of employability, further studies, etc.

Louis: PKR communications director Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad is right. PPMSI will benefit those English-speaking children. Let us face it. I have many teacher friends teaching Science and Maths in rural schools where the kids can hardly speak a word of English.

All of them acknowledge that PPMSI is a total failure in rural schools. The students hardly understand what is taught and as a result they have to use Bahasa Malaysia to explain the subject matter.

I do not question the importance of English. There is no denying that it is the international language and should be pursued seriously by all children. I agree with you that it is the language used in science and mathematics. Also it is the language for commerce.

Important as the language may be, it serves no purpose to those poor kids if they do not understand the subject matter taught in English. These findings do not come from me. They are experiences related to me by qualified English-speaking Science and Maths teachers.

At least if the subjects are taught in Bahasa or Mandarin, there is a fighting chance for those poor kids to do well in both subjects. Otherwise, their interest in Science and Maths will be killed the very first day in schools.

For your information, most of Kuala Lumpur children do not need school teachers to learn English. Many are so much better in the language than the teachers.

KLeo: Nik Nazmi, we are asking for the option to choose English as the language of instruction.

No one is denying that children from disadvantaged families struggle more with English, so Page (Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia) says democratise education and give parents and schools their freedom to choose.

In the first place, it is very misleading and frankly, demeaning, for Nik Nazmi to imply that English-speaking students come from a well-to-do background.

Lots of parents (ordinary middle-class people like teachers, even blue-collar workers) work their butts off to give their kids the best education they can in English. I doubt they would happily accept this 'fortunate' categorisation Nik Nazmi so easily slaps on them.

And even if some of these families are financially comfortable, are we saying that their children don't deserve the best education they can get?

Lion King: I thought PKR was more liberal and accommodative but they too are behaving like BN, which has no common sense and brain to think and evaluate rationally.

If this is what they are made of, then my vote is not for them. The same goes to all my family members and friends who are fighting to retain PPSMI or at least the option for parents to choose either one of the language.

DAP has my vote. Wake up PKR, think of the future generation and where we are heading globally.

JBGUY: I totally disagree with PKR on this as its stand on PPSMI will be responsible in making Malaysia lose its global competitiveness and causing our children to suffer.

I am strongly advocating the re-introduction of English-medium schools but at the same time making BM a compulsory subject. It is my fervent hope that the government will realise that only by bringing back English-medium schools will we see racial integration take place.

That was how it was in the 1960s and early 1970s. Give us that choice, we are stakeholders and our needs must be considered. Let us decide in favour of the future of our children.

The question of not having enough teachers proficient in English can be overcome by initially bringing teachers from India and the Philippines, but over time the locals will be ready to take over. Be brave and do the right thing.

Cala: After reading Nik Nazmi's justifications for insisting that Maths and Science not to be taught in English, I walked away with the impression that he was opposing Page's proposition simply because it was something not discussed in Pakatan Rakyat's Common Policy Framework.

To me, as he revealed later in the article, the real issue was insufficient teachers capable of handling Maths and Science in English. If he could state it boldly, the thrust of the discussion would have focused on something else.

Yes indeed, after years of NEP and affirmative action, Malaysian education system has really gone down the drain so much so that the majority of our teachers are not English proficient.

I suppose most of our English teachers have gone to Singapore too. If it is true, how can how can the education system be improved?