The majority of undergraduates at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) in Samarahan near Kuching are said to be in a dilemma with the imminent switch to English in the country's public universities next year.

"Truthfully speaking, the standard of English among a large number of Unimas students is quite atrocious," said a senior Unimas lecturer well-versed in both English and Bahasa Malaysia.

This fact is as much a dilemma to the students as the lecturers themselves, he told malaysiakini .

There is presently about an equal number of English and Bahasa Malaysia lecturers in the state's first public university, which has produced 4,130 graduates since 1997 for various disciplines offered at its eight faculties, including medicine and health sciences.

Lack of confidence

"I have often been approached by some students who, because of their lack of confidence in English, asked to be allowed to write their papers in Bahasa Malaysia," he said.

"Many would readily admit to their poor English," the lecturer said.

Lecturers who also mark papers are often shocked at the level of written English of many of their students.

"One just can't believe how bad their English is," he added.

Apart from the neglect of English in the years that followed the switch in medium of instruction from English to Bahasa Malaysia after the introduction of the National Education Policy, many students, especially from rural areas, have tended to mix with their own circles of friends where English is hardly spoken.

It is the urban environment where primary and secondary students tend to mingle more among a wider circle of friends of many races, and English is used more often. Concerned parents also send their children to English tuition classes.

The complete switch to English among public universities follow a government's directive with the aim to make English a widely-spoken language among Malaysians and to keep in pace with developments in information technology.

Loss of focus

Another lecturer, who also asked not to be identified, disclosed that a recent move to place the university's Language Centre under one of the eight faculties, resulting in what he claims as 'a loss of focus on language training,' was ill-timed.

"No real serious efforts have been taken to promote English," he added.

Undergraduates who join Unimas' first-year courses for the academic years 2004/2005, would have received their schooling in the Bahasa Malaysia medium in its entirety up to university level.

"It's a case of mismatch of some sort," the lecturer said. "Are we certain that all the lecturers themselves are up to it to teach in English?"

With the implementation of the National Education Policy, English tuition centres started to sprout, supplementing teaching of English in addition to a single textbook in English in schools.

One parent Henry Chen,54, said his 12-year-old son who is attending a state school attends English tuition twice weekly at an aided secondary school. "It is doing a world of good with English."

"He will be an example of a kid who looks forward to using English as a medium of instruction," he added.