A prominent think-tank has opined that Putrajaya's plan to make English a must-pass subject, as outlined in the Malaysian Education Blueprint , was currently unrealistic.

 

In a press release yesterday, Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) said that for this to work, teachers would require extra training and strategies must be formulated to to attract English speakers into the teaching fraternity.

 

When contacted for further comment, CPPS director Ng Yeen Seen said students in rural areas would suffer if English was made a must-pass due to their environment and lack of access to extra tuition.

 

"Imagine if you are living in a remote community in Kelantan up near the Thai border, none of your family or friends speak English, no one in your community speaks English, only your teacher speaks English and you are not even sure if they speak English properly.  

 

"How is it fair to make this a must-pass in two years?" asked Ng.

 

Coupled with the fact that the many teachers were not proficient in English, Ng described the plan as "not pragmatic".

 

More details needed

 

On the funding model described in the blueprint, which stated that all schools will be given the same amount of funding, Ng said that the document had failed to recognise that extra resources were needed by bigger schools.

 

She added that such a model also did not encourage schools to excel and attract more parents, who are generally inclined to enrol their children in what they deem to be better schools.

 

"A substantial amount of Malaysia's budget is channelled towards education compared to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. (However,) we are not sure about how the resources are distributed," she said.

 

The right approach, said Ng, was to ensure that under-performing schools be provided extra financial assistance.

 

On the blueprint's plans for promoting inclusiveness and meet the needs of the Orang Asli students, Ng said that the plans were welcomed but she expressed disappointment that the document did not outline the plans in sufficient detail.

 

“The education ministry needs to elaborate and fine tune the existing framework and provide clear policy to uplift the indigenous communities," Ng said.

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