Yesterday I read a letter in TheStar which would make many Parents who only wants the best option possible for their children's education feeling very sad indeed. The said letter purportedly from the Corporate Communications Unit of the Ministry of Education defending the Gomen's abolishment of the PPSMI, could be read here:
I thought the Gomen now in "listening to the rakyat mode" having abolished the EO and in the process of repealing the ISA, giving out millions to vernacular schools etc would have listened to majority parents who wants the Gomen to reinstate the PPSMI.
Why does the Gomen make a full U-turn from introducing the PPSMI during Dr. Mahathir's time as PM, to abolishing it shortly after Najib became PM. The introduction is in itself a acknowledgement that acquiring knowledge in Maths and Science through the English Medium is important in this digital age.
I think we must correct this perception about PPSMI, it is NOT about Language, its actually about acquiring knowledge in Mathematics and Science which are mainly in English. If we cannot cope with acquiring the ever increasing knowledge bank/database in Maths and Science which are mainly in English, we are, as a nation, as a people, will be left far behind soon.
The argument that National schools(Sekolah Kebangsaan) students after the English medium schools were abolished went on to become Engineers, Doctors, Architects, Accountants too, is fine, but think of the extra edge they could have achieved with the PPSMI. The world is changing fast, what was good then is outdated now, time waits for no man.
The Gomen must certainly understand that we are talking about a future where their decision now will affect this nation long after they are dust in the ground.
If you Google "Mathematics" you get 87, 800,000 (Eighty Seven Million Eight Hundred Thousand) Search Results;
If you Google "Matematik" you get 32,500,000 (Thirty Two Million Five Hundred Thousand) Search Results.
If you Google Science you get 1,820,000,000 (One Billion Eight Hundred and Twenty Million) Search Results;
If you Google Sains you only get 16,400,000 (Sixteen Million Four Hundred Thousand) Search Results.
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So MOE do you people think that our young not equipped with basic proficiency in English will be able to cope with the knowledge explosion in Maths and Science in this digital age?
I am quoting the following from Blogger Tuan Syed (Must Read in full: The Great PPSMI Mistake):
"Now lets take two other countries that "messed" up their education system - Burma and Ceylon. Both Burma and Ceylon had an English based education system just like we had. At one time both these countries were the leading lights in post-War Asia. In the 60s and 70s they produced large numbers of medical specialists, engineers, lawyers, accountants and even a United Nations Secretary General (U Thant). U Thant, a son of Burma, was the third Secretary General of the United Nations for a record 10 years from 1961 to 1971. Lee Kuan Yew has written that he seriously expected Ceylon to pass Singapore in their economic development.
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Then things went wrong. Just like us, language nationalists in Ceylon and Burma switched their system to the vernacular ie Sinhalese in Ceylon and Burmese in Burma. Both countries also changed their name to Sri Lanka and Myanmar respectively. Ever since then both Sri Lanka and Myanmar have become what they are today - basket cases in Asia.
We are not running down any country's national language including Malay. This is the farthest thing from the truth."
So dear YAB DPM/Menteri Pelajaran please have a discussion again with YAB Prime Minister to give our children their universal Human Rights to choose the education of their choice for the sake of their future and the future of this blessed nation.
YAB PM and YAB DPM, please reinstate the PPSMI.
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