Cabinet yet to discuss PPSMI, Khalid says
Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad said the issue of Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) has so far not been discussed in cabinet.
“It was mentioned but there’s no decision and if it’s brought to the cabinet, I am quite confident that it is something which is a very controversial issue and will generate a lot of discussions.
“I am confident that the prime minister, being someone who is committed to the concept of achieving consensus in the cabinet, is fully aware that the situation now is not similar to in the days of BN...
Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad said the issue of Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) has so far not been discussed in cabinet.
“It was mentioned but there’s no decision and if it’s brought to the cabinet, I am quite confident that it is something which is a very controversial issue and will generate a lot of discussions.
“I am confident that the prime minister, being someone who is committed to the concept of achieving consensus in the cabinet, is fully aware that the situation now is not similar to in the days of BN.
“We have (now) got a very strong coalition with each party having a strong say. It’s very important to bring issues which are controversial to the cabinet for a thorough debate and discussion before a decision is made,” Khalid (above) said to reporters at the Federal Territories Day celebration at Dataran Merdeka today.
It was reported yesterday that acting Education Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is also the prime minister, said he would like to see science and mathematics being taught in English again. The PPSMI was abolished in 2011 after vocal protests.
Even if the government wanted to implement PPSMI, it is not something that can be done overnight, Khalid said.
“Even the capacity of the teachers themselves need to be reoriented, because all this while they have been trained to teach in Bahasa Malaysia. Suddenly, you cannot just flip and say okay, tomorrow you start teaching in English,” he said.
Khalid also said that his Amanah party’s stand is that they do not agree with PPSMI unless there are solid arguments which can convince them otherwise.
He also said there are other ways to improve students’ mastery of the English language and that difficult subjects should not be taught in a foreign language.
“We believe that if you want to upgrade the standard of English, then you increase the hours of teaching English, you teach English literature and so on.
“But it is very difficult for people who cannot understand science and math in their own mother tongue, for them to be expected to understand it in a foreign language.
“You might as well tell the people in the kampung that we will teach you math and science in Mandarin, it will be just as effective,” he said.
