MIC president S Samy Vellu today forewarned Indian Malaysians that a total rejection of the government's proposal to teach Science and Mathematics in English starting next year may lead to the eventual closure of Tamil schools.

Addressing more than 500 heads of parent-teacher associations and headmasters of Tamil schools nationwide, he predicted that this may become a reality if Tamil schools reject the proposal, forcing parents to opt for national schools instead.

He said the pull factor will be the introduction of Mandarin and Tamil in national schools, to which the Cabinet has given its nod. The implementation date has yet to be set.

"I fear that if we reject the proposal, parents will choose to send their children to schools which provide the teaching of Science and Maths in English.

"At the same time, the government has also decided to introduce Tamil and Mandarin in national schools and make it compulsory for pupils to learn their respective mother tongue," he told participants of the one-day symposium.

"If this is implemented, many parents will feel that it is better to send their children to national schools because not only will they be able to master Bahasa Melayu and English, but also their mother tongue without any hassle.

"I feel this move will adversely affect the Tamil schools, especially in terms of the number of pupils."

Policy will be implemented

Samy Vellu also reminded them that the new policy to teach Science and Maths in English will go ahead regardless of objection from any party.

National schools will start their new academic year in 2003 under the new policy but the implementation in vernacular schools has been deferred by the Cabinet pending feedback from the respective communities.

Since announcing the policy a few weeks ago, the ministry has come under fire from various social and education groups across all three major ethnic groups, some of whom are totally against its hasty implementation.

At the symposium, Education Ministry curriculum development division director Dr Sharisah Maimunah Syed Zin gave a brief overview of the policy and the staggered implementation for Year 1, Form 1 and remove classes and Lower Six.

She explained the mechanism of implementation, special incentives for teachers, extra allocation for all schools, and the supply of software and hardware to enable the teaching and learning of Science and Maths in English.

Future of children in Tamil schools

In his speech earlier, Samy Vellu said whatever decision is made today, it must take into account the future of the children in Tamil schools, especially when the more challenging courses will be conducted in English at university level.

"Even now, Indian Malaysian students are facing problems in certain fields. So, the mastery of English is very important to pursue their ambition in professional courses."

Earlier, a small group of concerned citizens had gathered at the entrance of the Putra World Trade Centre, the venue of the symposium, to distribute flyers in Tamil. They also shouted slogans on the importance of preserving Tamil as the mother tongue and not to compromise the language and culture.

But the rising tempers of the joint-organisers, MIC and the Tamil Schools National Action Council, resulted in a shouting match and this brought a team of light strike force personnel from the Dang Wangi district police headquarters on stand-by..

When asked for comments later, Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Commissioner Hadi Ho Abdullah described the increased police presence as "a routine reinforcement for functions like this".

"This is nothing unusual. We always prepare for the unexpected and the earlier arguments were over passes to enter the hall, when the organisers told us that uninvited people were trying to gain entry.

"But we told them that the matter was for them to resolve," he said, declining to elaborate on the details of the morning's commotion.

Apart from the top MIC leadership, others present were from the education ministry and the National Union of the Teaching Profession