It looks as though the vernacular schools have done pretty well in the UPSR exams for the year 2005. Amongst these schools are the Tamil schools in the urban and semi-urban areas which have seen a marked rise in enrollment and support from the Indian Malaysian community because of the good results they produce. There seems to be a change in the attitude of young parents who see promise in their children being sent to Tamil schools.

The teachers and the parent-teacher associations of these schools are very eager to see the students excel in their studies. This changed attitude is good for the community as whole but the thought of teaching Maths and Science in one's own mother-tongue is an idea which will not suit our needs in Malaysia. We need these two subjects to be taught in English so that as a long-term result of this, English will be spoken widely.

We had a wonderful education system when the entire curriculum was taught in English and our graduates were sought after around the region and we were the way ahead our rivals. But now with language fanatics on one side and the government experimenting on the other, we seem to be very unsure of the future.

It is simple logic - why are all our bright people comfortable overseas? It is because they are appreciated and allowed the freedom no matter what their political affiliation, race, religion and ethnic background. If we keep changing the system every now and then, we will continue to face a shortage of good and capable graduates to replace the older ones who have retired.

After experimenting with an entire generation, we see that the government is admitting its mistakes in the education system. Indeed, we have even succeeded in creating elected assemblymen and members of parliament who are not fluent and able in English.

Some of these politicians are even state leaders. If English continues to take a back seat in the education mainstream, then we must be prepared to become a nation with good modern facilities but a backwater mindset still dependent on foreign expertise to help run our state-of-the-art facilities. English schools must be an option for parents and students. We need to change fast.