The glitches in the implementation of the language switch policy for schools will not deter the government from pursuing it, said Deputy Education Minister Hon Choon Kim today.

"We won't look back but we'll try to resolve these problems and improve on it," he said when met at the Parliament lobby.

Yesterday, the ministry revealed three main problems regarding the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English, which was implemented in January amid much protest.

Minimal interaction

According to the ministry, one of the problems is the minimal interaction between teachers and students due to the inability to communicate in English.

In a written reply to Chang See Ten (BN-Gelang Patah) in Parliament, the ministry said the "delivery of the teacher is slow while students find it hard to understand".

"Teachers however are advised to always use English. In order for students to understand, teachers must avoid translating a particular phrase into Malay," the reply added.

The BN parliamentarian had asked the ministry to state the problems faced in the implementation of the language switch and the measures taken to counter them.

Absent teachers

The ministry said another problem is the frequent absence of teachers.

"This happens because Standard One and Two teachers involved in the language switch policy need to attend several courses conducted by the ministry such as English proficiency courses, pedagogy training and Information Communication Technology training courses," it explained.

To overcome this, the ministry said it has proposed that training sessions be organised during weekends or school holidays.

Security is another issue as there have been reports of the hi-tech teaching hardware supplied to schools by the ministry being stolen.

The equipment, which include LCD projectors and laptop computers, are being used to facilitate the teaching of the two subjects in English.

Tighten security

In view of this, the ministry has urged schools to tighten security in their premises and suggested that teachers be permitted to take back some of the hardware.

According to the reply, the ministry also listens to problems and complaints raised during the special language switch committee's bi-weekly meeting. The committee is chaired by Education Minister Musa Mohamed.

When met later, Chang told malaysiakini that he has received similar complaints from the schools in his constituency and therefore decided to raise the issue with the ministry.

The government implemented the new policy for all national and primary schools despite strong protests by various education groups who fear the switch may alter the characteristics of vernacular schools.

However, Chinese primary schools were given an alternative implementation proposal which, it was claimed, "would not usurp the role of mother tongue".

The government has allocated RM5 billion to be spent over a period of seven years for the implementation of the language switch.