Musa: Direct English-language issue to BN supreme council

comments     Beh Lih Yi     Published     Updated

MCA and Gerakan reservations on the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English can ultimately be resolved at the BN supreme council level, Education Minister Musa Mohamed said.

As the matter has been politicised, it is no longer an education issue and should be resolved at the BN supreme council meeting, the minister was quoted as saying in the Nanyang Siang Pau today.

Asked whether the ministry would hold a dialogue with Chinese organisations such as Dong Jiao Zong, he replied, "What else is there to discuss? I have said clearly that the objective to use English in teaching Science and Mathematics is to enable students to improve their proficiency in English."

Musa told the Chinese daily that there was no need for further discussion if the Chinese organisations still persisted on their stand of using mother-tongue language to teach Science and Mathematics.

He said that a dialogue would only be held if Dong Jiao Zong and other interested Chinese groups have other agreements to discuss.

Views of BN parties

On Gerakan's proposal to set up a national education advisory council to resolve the issue, Musa reiterated that the BN supreme council is the best forum to discuss and reach a consensus.

He urged BN component parties to raise their reservations with the supreme council and not to engage in a public debate.

Gerakan deputy president Kerk Choo Ting was also quoted by the paper as saying that the teaching medium in Chinese primary schools should remain, but that English must also be given due attention.

Kerk said the party would discuss the matter with other BN Chinese component parties such as MCA, SUPP of Sarawak and SAPP and LDP of Sabah.

Scenarios in education

At the MCA 49th annual general assembly last Saturday, party secretary general Dr Ting Chew Peh said that teaching Science and Mathematics in English would change the nature of Chinese primary schools.

Ting, who is also education bureau chairperson, outlined two possible scenarios in which the students' English may improve but the standard of the two subjects may decline.

"The gain is not worth the loss and if the standard of all three subjects were to decline, everybody will lose out in the end.

Commenting on Ting's statement, DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang said at the DAP education forum in Kuala Lumpur last night that "it is significant that Ting completely excluded the possibility of the third scenario the improvement in the academic standard for all three subjects, English, Mathematics and Science by ignoring it altogether".



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