Muhyiddin's English error in judgment bodes ill for Malaysian kids

It is one thing to over-quote a Unesco report and bend it to one's liking, it is another to listen to the opinions of the nation. Yet, Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin took little notice of what Malaysian parents had to say about the use of English to teach Math and Science.

Muhyiddin's announcement that Bahasa Melayu would remain as the language of instruction for both Math and Science was condemned and accused of being contrary to the justification he stated.

“In schools where the majority of the students are Malay, it may be best to use BM. But for rest, let's be realistic, English is still the better choice in terms of keeping up with the rest of the world and affording our kids a better chance to get into good schools overseas since the current government is still unwilling to drop all its disproportionate quota of students intake into the national higher-education system. Once the quota stops, perhaps then they could implement this, to be fair,” a citizen, who wanted to be known only as Mrs A, told Malaysia Chronicle.

Some other parents asked that parliamentarians give an account of where they sent their own children to school, “Ask all MPs, including PM, CMs, MBs and their deputies to declare where their kids and grandkids go to school,” said a mother.

Another member of the public was also quick to point out that Malaysia would be on the losing end by having Math and Science taught in Bahasa Melayu while the most of the world uses English.

“This arrogant and stubborn ignorance will set the stage for our nation's failure. In many developing and developed countries, English is viewed as the window to the world. Whilst the national language is the language used to identify the nation and the mother tongue is a window into the individual's heritage," said a lecturer, who did not want to be named.

The lingua franca

Indeed, English is critical in the area of science. Some 80 to 90% of scientific journals are written in English. The benefit of honoring a primary language is evident. If you cannot grasp the language proper, chances are high that you might end up re-inventing the wheel in science because past published papers are mostly in English, which you would not be able to access or review or cite if you did not know the language.

English is also critical in the area of math and engineering for the same reasons. The primary language for math and engineering is English and in the far second, French. French is not a convenient language in Malaysia and so the choice is clear.

Muhyiddin must learn to not cut corners in our country's development. Do not shut the windows to the world on our children. Our world supports 7 billion people, Malaysia has about 28 million people, Indonesia has 230 million people, add 10% and we have 3.5% of the world's population who speak Malay derivatives.

That India is the most successful high-tech story in the late 20th and early 21st century is not by accident. It ranks second in the English speaking population index of the world. Let's not ignore this little fact.

DPM has got it mixed up

In announcing his decision, Muhyiddin had argued his case by saying that research conducted by Unesco found that schoolchildren were more receptive in learning new subjects using their mother tongue.

“Some people do not understand any other language apart from their mother tongue. The important thing is knowledge, and what is the simplest medium to attain it? Unesco research found that people learnt things better via their own language, their mother tongue,” he told a press conference last week.

Yet, it seems the DPM has mixed the up the need to protect a national language with the issue of using an instructional language. Unesco advocates the use of multiple languages within the teaching of subjects in schools, rather than stuffing a national language down children's throats.

Unesco prescribes multilinguism

The Unesco initiative in education advocates the use of the mother-tongue in early education for children as a means of creating an inclusive system where all children can receive education. This is particularly important in countries which are multi-ethnic and multi-linguist where some rural communities may fall through the gaps and be deprive of basic education.

While advocating the use of the child’s mother-tongue in early education, Unesco also promotes the need to create a multilingual school system in order to enhance the quality of education. The advocacy to use the child’s mother-tongue in early education is not exclusive to just Science and Maths, but rather should encompass all subjects within the nations’ education system.

In other words, we can have a school system that uses Bahasa as the mandated medium of instruction and still teach Science and Maths in English. This is consistent with what Unesco wants. And at the end of the day, Malaysian children end up multilingual and standing on par with the rest of the world.

The DPM has erred in judgement and we can only shudder at what the future holds for Malaysian children in the coming years as they grapple with the need to compete with anl English-speaking global scientific community.

Malaysia Chronicle