Can Musa, Chua Jui Meng, Kerk Choo Ting, George Chan and Hon Choon Kam guarantee that the high standards of mathematics of Chinese primary school pupils achieving over 90% passes in UPSR would not plunge to around 75% after the switch of medium of teaching to English?

(Seremban, Sunday):  The Cabinet on Wednesday should direct the Education Minister, Tan Sri Musa Mohamad to come down from his “high horse”  and act with greater humility and responsibility by meeting  with political parties, educational bodies and civic organizations like the DAP, Dong Jiao Zong, Hua Zong, Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall and others which are not convinced that the use of English to teach mathematics and science in Chinese primary schools will lead to the upliftment in the standards of mathematics, science and English but most likely have the reverse results. 

The Special Cabinet meeting on 19^th July 2002 decided on the use of English to teach mathematics and science in Standard One, Form One and Lower Six in all national schools next year, but made no decision on whether the Chinese and Tamil primary schools would also be affected until a political decision is taken by the Barisan Nasional parties. 

This would mean that all the Barisan Nasional Ministers including those from the MCA, Gerakan, SUPP and MIC have been satisfied that the use of English to teach mathematics and science in the Chinese and Tamil primary schools is educationally sound and a good idea but they are stalled as to whether it is politically acceptable to the parents and teachers concerned and in particular to the mother-tongue education commitments of their respective communities. 

So far, the SUPP is the only Barisan Nasional component party which had openly declared its support for the switch of the medium of instruction from Mandarin to English for mathematics and science in Chinese primary schools, although other leaders have expressed their personal support ahead of their respective parties, like Datuk Kerk Choo Ting, the Gerakan Deputy President and Datuk Chua Jui Meng, the MCA National Vice President. 

If all the Barisan Nasional Cabinet Ministers are convinced that it is educationally sound and a good idea to use English to teach mathematics and science in Chinese primary schools, although MCA and Gerakan are not sure as to how to  “sell” the idea to make it “politically acceptable”, it is most shocking that they had made no attempt to convince Malaysians, and in particular the parents and teachers in the Chinese and Tamil primary schools, with professional studies, surveys and reports, that such a switch is educationally sound and good for the pupils concerned. 

For instance, can Musa, Chua Jui Meng, Kerk Choo Ting, the SUPP President, Datuk George Chan or the MCA Deputy Education Minister, Datuk Hon Choon Kam guarantee that the high standards of mathematics of Chinese primary school pupils – achieving over 90% passes in UPSR – will not plunge to around 75% after the switch of medium of instruction to English? 

The Education Ministry’s Education Development Blueprint 2001-2010 gives the following comparative performance in the UPSR in 2000 in the English, mathematics and science by the national, Chinese and Tamil primary schools:

Jadual 2.6

Prestasi Mata Pelajaran SK, SJKC dan SJKT dalam UPSR Tahun 2000 

From these data from the  Examinations Board, Chinese primary school pupils excel in all the three UPSR subjects in English, Mathematics and Science as compared to pupils from national and Tamil primary schools. 

With the use of English to teach mathematics in Chinese primary schools, will the very high percentage of 91.2% pass in Mathematics scored by Std. VI Chinese primary school pupils in 2000 plunge to the level of that of the national primary schools of around 75% - or could the performance of Chinese primary school pupils in mathematics be lifted up further to say 95% by the switch in the medium of instruction for the subject? 

The Education Minister and MCA, Gerakan and SUPP Ministers and leaders must be able to answer this question – or they have no business to advocate or toy with the idea of the switch of medium of instruction for mathematics in Chinese primary schools. The same considerations apply to the science subject. 

Musa, or anyone of the trio of his deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries, in particular Hon Choon Kam should have the courage of conviction of the educational soundness of the Education Ministlry’s proposal to change the medium of instruction from Mandarin to English in the Chinese primary schools for mathematics and science and attend the DAP Educattion Forum on the Education Development Blueprint 2001-2010 at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, Kuala Lumpur tomorrow (Monday, 29^th July 2002) at 8 p.m. (in Mandarin) to present the Education Ministry’s case.

(28/7/2002)