I was quite disturbed to read in the newspapers about the use of English to teach Science and Mathematics to Year 1 pupils in Sarawak next year.
Early this week, Datuk Seri Michael Manyin Jawong warned that it was going to be a challenge changing the system, with Sarawak chosen to pioneer the teaching of both subjects in English.
Manyin, a former teacher, admitted that teachers might face problems making the switch from Bahasa Malaysia to English.
“Definitely many of them (teachers) are not confident, shy and even scared to make mistakes because some of our students are very conversant in English, especially those from middle and upper class families,” said the Education, Science and Technological Research Minister.
He urged teachers not to worry too much about making mistakes and to try their best.
“Don’t bother about grammar or the Queen’s English, speak Sarawak English because that is where we have to start. Gasak ajak!
“We start with this until someone points out to us the mistakes and gradually we will speak the Queen’s English,” he said followed by a round of applause from more than 600 teachers attending the Sarawak English Language Education Symposium.
Easier said than done because the same system had been implemented at the national level 10 years ago but it failed.
However, Sarawak is going to throw caution to the wind by taking up this ‘mission impossible’.
We must remember that in Sarawak, a majority of the students from 1,265 primary schools involved in this ‘experiment’ have very little or very poor understanding of English.
And to top that, the 2,800 teachers assigned to the task, who have taught the two subjects in Bahasa Malaysia for many years, are not proficient enough.
English was the medium of instruction in schools during the colonial era until it was changed to Bahasa Malaysia in the early 70s.
Since then, two generations of Malaysians, particularly the rural poor, have lost the ability to understand let alone have a reasonable understanding of the language.
In fact, teaching Science and Maths in English at primary school level is not new because it was first ‘experimented’ in 2003 to enable bumiputeras and other indigenous communities to catch up with the Chinese who were well advanced in these subjects. However, this was scrapped in 2009 as it was found to be ineffective.
Now facing this uphill task of reviving the project, Manyin has urged teachers to take up the challenge and ‘gasak ajak’.
A colloquial term, it means to use whatever method to get the job done.
It may be easier said than done given the fact that the target group are students from more than 20 ethnic groups, some in the remotest regions of Sarawak.
Two Malaysian Chinese-language education groups under the collective name Dong Jiao have urged the government to scrap this project.
They reminded that the system failed because students were unable to master a new language while at the same time perform well in both subjects.
But the government was unwavering and Sarawak was chosen to lead the way.
While Dong Jiao did not deny the importance of English, they opined that the Malaysian education system is not yet in a place to implement such an ambitious project.
“We agree that there is a need to improve Malaysians’ mastery of English, and that this is also an urgent task that has to be done, but it has to be based on proper learning principles.”
It added, “(But) because students are unable to master a language that is not their mother tongue, it will weaken the students’ academic performance, and seriously affect the nation’s education quality level.”
Meanwhile, Sarawak-based English super-tutor and educator Peter de Run said if the Sarawak government had agreed to go ahead, it would be best to prepare teachers to master English.
He said this would enable teachers not only to effectively communicate with students but to also assist students in picking up English too.
Peter, who prepares students for the IGCSE exams, which is the equivalent of the UK’s GCSE exams offered by many international schools in Malaysia, said while the intention was good, the use of ‘Sarawak English’ might hinder the purpose of this whole experiment.
“An adoption of a growth mindset and a resolute focus to improve their level of English will need to be the aim for these teachers.”
In this case, I believe it is best for the present batch of teachers to be left to do what they do best — teach in Bahasa Malaysia.
And if the show must go on, it may be wise to initially try out the system with a few selected ‘model’ primary schools rather than pursue a statewide policy, which could turn out to be a major misadventure.
We have to think rationally rather than experimenting on our young ones. There are too many young lives at stake. As they say, better safe than sorry!
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
