Sarawak to continue with PPSMI, recognise UEC

Sarawak will continue with the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) programme, Sarawak Assistant Minister for Education, Science and Technological Research Annuar Rapaee (above) said today.

The state also stands by its decision to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), he said, adding that these decisions show the importance of Sarawak’s autonomy over education.

This comes after the federal government announced on Thursday that it will not reintroduce the PPSMI.

“We reintroduced PPSMI in Sarawak starting this year, with Standard One students.

“We have studied the criticisms and weaknesses from the previous implementation on the national level and taken the necessary steps to overcome them,” Annuar was reported as saying by Free Malaysia Today.

Critics of PPSMI have pointed to a study which said the PPSMI policy not only failed to increase English proficiency and performance in both the subjects, but it also caused race polarisation, he said.

“I haven’t read or examined the study yet, but for me, we have to look at why the policy failed and not just forget about teaching Science and Mathematics in English,” Annuar said.

The original implementation of PPSMIwas 'too rushed'

Sarawak believes that the original implementation of PPSMI for Standard One and Form One students was too rushed, he said.

“If you introduce it to Form One students, those who have been studying the subject in Malay from Standard Four to Six will struggle.

“This time, we will do it slowly, starting with Standard One and so on,” Annuar said.

Teachers will also be retrained to teach the two subjects in English, he added.

However, he noted that the federal government did not provide any allocation for the PPSMI programme in Sarawak.

“We have spent almost RM10 million to develop the module, print the textbooks and workbooks, train teachers and provide additional materials to them,” Annuar said.

Sarawak has chosen to reintroduce PPSMI for the benefit of the state as well as its people, he added.

“Many local graduates get jobs in the private sectors due to their weak English proficiency, this is the technology age, the Industrial Revolution 4.0. The mastery of English is no longer a choice.

“Like it or not, English is the language of knowledge and if we do not master it, how can we compete?” Annuar questioned.

At the same time, he said Sarawak will stand by its decision to acknowledge the UEC for state-sponsored scholarship applications and for jobs with the state government because it benefits the state and its people.

“When it comes to Sarawak’s right, autonomy in terms of what the state wants for its education is very important.

“We are a state rich in natural resources and so to benefit from it, we need talent and advanced technology.

“If we do not prepare our rakyat with the knowledge and technology proficiency, we will have to rely on foreigners and this is not good for the state and the rakyat. We do not want them to be left behind,” he said.

Education should not be politicised, Annuar added.

“For example, the UEC plays a role in developing human resources, so we accept UEC for scholarship applications.

“We cannot discriminate students based on their educational background.

“For Sarawakians, what is important is that they want to contribute to the state and country. We should not deny them their chance to do so,” Annuar said.

The UEC issue came under the spotlight again when Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin recently said it should adhere to the national education policy if it wants the matter to be considered for a resolution in the future.

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