The hasty implementation of the policy to teach science and mathematics in English may turn out to be not only a costly affair for the government but also a generation of Malaysian students, say veteran educationists.

These former teachers, based on the wealth of experience gained since the British colonial era, strongly rebut official claims that mastery of the language can be attained through the teaching of the two subjects in English.

A Rajaguru, who had been a teacher for 35 years, said both science and mathematics are subjects which do not allow much interaction between pupils and teachers, thus defeating the objective of improving English.

"The teaching method [for both subjects] will be rather technical, in keeping with the straightforwardness of the subjects," the former National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general told malaysiakini recently.

"History or geography would provide more scope for improvement as the teaching of these subjects involve conversation, questioning, quizzes and discussion between teachers and pupils."

Wrong teachers deployed

Rajaguru, now president of Koperasi Serbaguna NUT Bhd, believes that teaching science and mathematics in English was insufficient to improve proficiency among young Malaysians.

Starting next year, the language switch will be introduced in all schools for pupils enrolled in Year One, Remove class, Form One and Lower Six levels.

The move is in line with the government's aim to check the decline in English proficiency among Malaysian students.

However, various quarters, mostly vernacular educationists, have opposed the idea on the ground that the switch may result in the deterioration of standards in both subjects as pupils will find it easier to learn them in their mother-tongue.

Citing the changes in the curriculum in the early 90s where pupils were told go back to basics in reading, writing and learning mathematics, Rajaguru said the 'wrong' trainers were roped in to prepare the teachers.

"We (NUTP) used to receive complaints from many teachers over this problem, which was even seen as a discriminatory criteria against the non-Malays, because only Malay trainers were taken in to prepare teachers in English. "Who paid the price in the end?"

Which is why the government should not be hasty to implement this policy as there is still the question of whether all English teachers can teach these two subjects and vice-versa, he added.

He pointed out that teachers, parents and even children were already proficient in English during the English-medium days, which made it easier to teach and learn the language.

Sub-standard teachers

Retired headmaster William Doraisamy, despite believing that the idea of teaching in English is long overdue, nevertheless cautioned against hasty implementation of the new policy.

"This is a good idea because English is a global language but the government should not rush into it because I don't think there are enough teachers to handle the switch," he said.

Alternatively, he suggested that the government get more qualified English teachers, scrap moral and social skills subjects which are currently taught in primary schools and replace them with additional English lessons, as well as make it compulsory for undergraduates to pass an English proficiency test before graduating.

"English should be a daily part of life as it is a living language. More time must be allotted for it in the school curriculum," he said.

"More conversation should be had in English and at least two hours daily should be set aside for verbalising it, including writing, speaking and reading in English.

"Language can be mastered by usage and not studies. To think that writing and reading competitions help in improving proficiency is incorrect because the same students end up participating in them."

Doraisamy, who was with the Petaling District education department curriculum committee for English for five years before retiring, foresees a problem in the implementation of the policy.

"The teaching will involve only technical terms and processes, but the language proper like grammar and sentence structure will be absent. It will be mere translation from Bahasa terms into English.

"I don't see any great improvement in English proficiency here because these two subjects do not need classroom discussion," he explained.

"The language of science and maths has a limited scope and one cannot go deeper into the language."

Doraisamy firmly believes that what is needed are more English-trained teachers to teach the language itself.

"Then or now, the teachers are not really academically qualified. The best students are not getting into teachers training colleges.

"We should not put 'sub-standard' teachers for primary education because this stage is vital to lay the foundation for education. But we seem to forget that and tend to compromise on quality."

He also identified the examination-oriented method of teaching and studying as the root problem for the declining standard of English.

"Nowadays, pupils don't speak English in school or at home. For example, pupils these days are told to fill in the blanks or answer in multiple options," said the educationist with 30 years experience in the teaching field.

'Wells of wisdom'

An educationist who is a proponent of the language switch is National Teacher of the Year 1998 award recipient Dr Yahaya Ibrahim.

He said it was important to think positively about the proposal because other countries had also begun taking English seriously.

He cited Germany and France as introducing English at the school and varsity levels.

"New non-traditional methods of teaching English, especially in this ICT [information and communication technology] era, should be explored fully so that pupils will remain attentive and be better able to grasp the concepts," he said.

"If subjects are said to be dull and dry, then I would say that the teachers themselves are dull and dry. To me, there is nothing wrong with teaching science and maths in English because children grasp better by learning English through doing or action, instead of studying in classrooms."

Yahaya, who has been in the teaching profession since 1954, said one good source of manpower were retired teachers, whom he described as "wells of wisdom" that can be tapped to meet the present need.

"They are English-trained and have taught many subjects in English during their time. Furthermore, there are 27 teachers training colleges in Malaysia, and the final-year trainees should already start familiarising themselves with the switch."

Sharing his experience of working with 300 American Peace Corp members who were deployed to Malaysia between 1969 and 1975 to teach science and maths in the Malay language, he said Malaysians should have an open mind about the policy.

"If these American teachers, equipped with three months' intensive Malay language courses at the East-West Centre in Hawaii, were able to teach in Malay for two years with an option for another year, why can't we do it in English now?"

Yahaya, 74, the current pro-chancellor of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris [formerly known as Maktab Perguruan Sultan Idris], said he had worked with them in schools along the east coast from Mersing to Tumpat after science was first introduced in primary schools in 1965.

Unfortunately, he said, similar programmes under the British Peace Corp, German Peace Corp, Japanese Peace Corp and the Australian Peace Corp had gone undocumented.