The government will abide by the decision of the court relating to the case of four students who are suing the government over the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science in the English language, which they alleged is unconstitutional.

Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said it would be the court that would decide whether the teaching of both the subjects in the English Language was in accordance with the Constitution or otherwise.

"I think there is no problem in leaving the matter to the right authority. The authority that has the expertise to study and scrutinise the policy in the context of the Constitution and make a decision.

"We will abide (by the court's decision). We cannot place ourselves above the law," he was quoted as saying by Bernama .

Unconstitutional implementation

Last Friday, a primary school pupil and three secondary school students sued the government over the teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science in the English language.

They are seeking a court declaration that the implementation of the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in the English Language is unconstitutional.

The language switch policy, proposed by former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was implemented in 2003 with the aim of improving the English proficiency of students.

Vernacular education groups had strongly opposed but the government refused to back down.

Critics claimed that the policy was introduced as part of the government's plan to phase out vernacular schools.

They also alleged that the performance of students was affected by the switch.

The language switch was implemented for Year One in all primary schools. In Chinese schools, however, a 2-4-3 formula was applied - two periods for English, four for Mathematics and three for Science each week.