Le Sigh...

I didn't know I'd had to write about the PPSMI issue again so soon (the last time I wrote about it  was here). The result is out: the Education Ministry will revert back into Malay (mother tongue for vernacular schools) by 2012. 

Damn it. 

I laughed out in mostly horror after reading the following statements by our PM, Datuk Seri Najib (taken from TheStar):

1. The aim remains the same. There is no change. Only the method in reaching the objective is now different

Gimme a break. No change? Now our teachers are gonna take the lazy way out, our youths are gonna take the lazy way out. 

Yet we still wonder why the quality of our education remains 2nd-class.

2. He said increasing the time allocated to teaching English, introducing English literature and language laboratories, among others, would be a better method in boosting proficiency in the language than using it to teach Mathematics and Science.

Well it sure would help if English was used for Science & Maths in addition to improving the method of teaching. It's a pointless move, there's no check & balance to ensure the kids will take the effort to learn English when they're out of school. And people are scared of making English a compulsory subject to pass for the SPM.

3. Najib said reverting to Bahasa Malaysia would not pose a problem as it has been proven that “we have be able to produce doctors and professionals by teaching the subjects in Malay.”

“Many doctors went through the education system in Malay right through university. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia has produced a number of good doctors."

“There is no question about quality being compromised or affected,” he said. 

A big big joke. Are you gonna change the medium for teaching engineering subjects into Malay now, coz, OH, other universities did it.

Bah.

4. “But we see only 8% of teachers are really confident in teaching in English. In reality, it is not really happening the way we had envisaged,” he said.

Then in 2012, 0% will be confident. Perfect. It's natural that only 8% will be really confident, these teachers are the by-products of the Malay-medium system, if you enforce the English

medium policy, they'll HAVE to improve. 

5. Later when asked about former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad being “disappointed and saddened” by the decision, Najib again said that the aim of the change was to boost proficiency in English among Malaysians, particularly the young, remain but only the method of achieving the target was different.

I don't understand this at all! How do you achieve the aim when the main motivation for youths to achieve it is lost?

I'm frankly disappointed with this news. Thank goodness I'm gonna be out of this system. I'll probably take my kids to Australia if this policy continues.