Monday, July 22, 2019

Best if Mahathir stays out of school children's English learning



MM Online - After PM’s push for English in Maths and Science, Chinese education groups say no (extracts)


KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — The government should not revive the scrapped policy of teaching of science and mathematics in English (PPSMI), two Chinese-language education groups under the collective name of Dong Jiao Zong said.

In a statement, Dong Jiao Zong expressed its dissatisfaction over Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s remarks in Parliament that the government is studying the reintroduction of the PPSMI policy.


has never like Chinese since way before 1969, where some said t'was during his university days in Singapore

in the 1969 general elections they voted him out by supporting instead PMIP (today's PAS) Yusof Rawa in Kota Selatan in Kedah

t'was the 1st time the Chinese voted massively for an Islamic Party PMIP (PAS) - it took the insult of Mahathir to prompt them to switch from their erstwhile allegiance for Tunku Abdul Rahman's Perikatan Party to PMIP

Dong Jiao Zong argued that teaching students in their mother tongue should instead be continued, citing examples of developed nations such as South Korea, Japan and Finland as examples of countries that had staunchly maintained education in their mother tongue without hampering their progress.

Referring to the 2018 results of primary six students who achieved 80.15 per cent and 96.12 per cent of the minimum level in UPSR examinations for maths and science, Dong Jiao Zong claimed this showed the effectiveness of teaching the subjects using students’ native languages.

The group insisted that the government focus on strengthening the teaching of these two subjects in students’ mother tongues in all school streams for better results, instead of “forcing” primary school students to learn these in a second language.

“Because students are unable to master a language that is not their mother tongue, this will weaken students’ academic performance in mathematics and science, and seriously affect the quality of the nation’s education,” the group asserted in a statement yesterday that was written in Mandarin.

Dong Jiao Zong is composed of the United Chinese School Teachers’ Association of Malaysia (UCSTAM) otherwise known as Jiao Zong and United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia (UCSCAM) better known as Dong Zong.

In the same statement, Dong Jiao Zong also cited the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025’s quoting of a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation. (Unecso) report that teaching students using their mother tongue initially would better equip them for bilingual or multilingual studies, noting that a return of the PPSMI policy would contradict the education ministry’s recognition of the importance of education using students’ mother tongue.

The group called on the government to recognise vernacular education as the most effective learning method for students, asserting that this has nothing to do with the “pride” of ethnic groups but was instead linked to the right to learn of students.

Dong Jiao Zong insisted the use of the PPSMI policy during the 2003-2009 period had affected the quality of education in Malaysia and should not be repeated. [...]

“Finally, Dong Jiao Zong calls on the government to let go of meaningless personal sentiments and follow research reports and data analysis to advance education reform,” it said.

On Tuesday, Dr Mahathir in replying a question in Parliament had said the National Education Advisory Council is still studying the matter of PPSMI, but noted that the council was split between those that wanted PPSMI and those insistent on continuing with Bahasa Melayu.


Today, without any doubt, the Chinese vernacular schools (SJK-C) are the top educators in Maths and Science in Malaysia, a credit to the school teachers and a boon to their students of all races in SJK-C - indeed they have been for aeons.

I have always suspected, wakakaka, Mahathir has been jealous of that. Yes, he has a perpetual grudge against Chinese Malaysian for just doing/performing better than Malays.

If it had been any other PM, I would have appreciated the cabinet promotion of PPSMI, but knowing Mahathir, I questioned (still do) his push for the teaching of English in Maths and Science - I even used the word 'sinister' in his persistent push for implementation of the program.

As PM in 2002 he made PPSMI as a Malaysian Government policy after a cabinet meeting on 19 July of that year.

It would have eff-ed up the vernacular schools' prowess in the teaching of Maths and Science. But what saved the fortunate Chinese education group from the complete implementation of PPSMI was the then opposition of Malay teachers to the program. Like the Chinese teachers they were not ready nor equipped to teach in English, and wisely they objected to PPSMI.

Anyway, apart from Dong Jiao Zong's quotation of UNESCO's recommendation for primary school children to best learn in their mother tongue (vernacular language), and mind, English is NOT an easy subject to learn as a foreign language, learning a new language is best done with a subject that requires decent verbal interactions and considerable use of vocabulary on a regular basis, like reading, history, civics, moral studies, geography, literature etc but hardly maths and science.

How to learn and command a new language when you just learn limited use of its vocabulary like, add/minus this from/to that, resolve equations 1 and 2, what is value of 'x', prove that 'y' is 2, etc? On top of that, all such instructions will be uttered by the respective teachers instead of the students participating interactively.

Thus, if our young students can learn English through those subjects which I've proposed above, then they will have commanded enough good English to also assist them in their learning of Maths and Science.

Don't let Mahathir destroy our children's educational standards again as he and many UMNO Education Ministers did in the past.

To quote blogger JUST READ's answer to Daim Zainuddin who asked: "Where will Malaysia go if our grads have poor English?", the blogger wrote:

Good question, but I guess he needs to direct it to Dr Mahathir who was the Education Minister in 1974-78. He observed how English medium schools were abolished throughout the 70s and completed in 1982 when he became the fourth prime minister.

What a hypocrite. 

Besides, Mahathir has been particularly unsuccessful with most of his grandiose schemes so I believe with his notorious 'MINUS TOUCH', most Malaysians would want him to stay out and let someone who is more learned on education deal with our children's precious studies.


17 comments:

  1. There is a good case for Science and Maths to be taught in English at Secondary level. At that stage, the students need free access to the wider world of scientific knowledge in books, periidicals and the Internet.
    With Chinese, Japanese and Korean, there is such a huge , vibrant body of science writing in their language, both translated and original, the students can access whatever they need without needing English.
    Not so in Malay.

    Now, if they learn Science and Maths in their mother tongue at Primary Level, there may again be strong objections to switching to English at Secondary level...."will confuse students". ...the never ending circle of Race and Language arguments...

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  2. "Dong Jiao Zong argued that teaching students in their mother tongue should instead be continued, citing examples of developed nations such as South Korea, Japan and Finland as examples of countries that had staunchly maintained education in their mother tongue without hampering their progress."

    Typical Cina dishonesty. "National Language", not "Mother Tongue". Ethnic Cina in Japan have no SRJK(C) to go to.

    Govt-funded SRJK(C) is a special right of the pukimak Cina here. No other country outside of Greater Cina has govt-funded SRJK(C). Cina pergi mampus, Cina fucking ingrates.

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    Replies
    1. Malaya and then malaysia have been different frm Japan, S Korea, etc in the fact that (at one time) the Chinese Malaysians constituted more than 50% of Malaya/Malaysia's population - surprised? That was why vernacular schools were allowed and flourished.

      Due to socio-political manipulation by you-know-who, there was humongous illegal-made-legal influx of Indonesian Filuipino and (Indian (mamak) immigration by the millions to make Malay-Muslims the majority. This aim was unwittingly abetted by massive Chinese migration to other countries. Despite all these, Chinese Malaysians still constituted 24% of the population

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    2. So fucking what?

      There are no Italian primary schools in Argentina.

      Just be happy Melayu don't do to Cina what Cina do to Cina in Taiwan. Ask them about the suppression of Hokkien when the KMT arrived. Be thankful Melayu don't do to Cina what Cina do to Cina. Ingrates.

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    3. so when Chinese were more than 50% of the population, they wanted to and could learn Mandarin

      italians do not constitute 50% of Argentinian population

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    4. Not up to the Cina. Up to the people who control the Army and Police. As is the case in Tiongfuckingcock and everywhere else. Ingrates.

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    5. Typical Cina pembohong

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Argentines

      "It is estimated up to 25 million Argentines have some degree of Italian descent (up to 62.5% of the total population)."

      Cina liars and ingrates.

      Delete
    6. Otakrosak!!!

      Wow… "Just be happy Melayu don't do to Cina what Cina do to Cina in Taiwan. Ask them about the suppression of Hokkien when the KMT arrived. Be thankful Melayu don't do to Cina what Cina do to Cina."

      Suppression of Hokkien when the KMT arrived!!

      Mfer, is that the Taiwanese history yr syariah compliant liar camel-heads taught u in school?

      BTW, "Melayu don't do to Cina" errhhhh…!

      Moron, yr ketuanan pals have been hard at work on that theme for the past 50 yrs since may13 leh!

      What fucking result(s) has/have u got?

      Still want a cinabeng like jho low to mastermind yr kleptocrat's daylight robbery!

      Right?

      U will die standing before u even know u have nothing but mimpi putih to fart about!

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    7. Lu bodoCK lu punya pasal pukimak punya Cina babi. Royal Malay Regiment will shoot your tiny konek first then your face next May 13.
      Pukimak Cina.

      https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-taiwan-generation-gap-20190215-htmlstory.html

      "wasn’t allowed to speak Hokkien, a dialect of Chinese spoken by descendants of Fujianese immigrants who’d come to Taiwan during the Qing Dynasty."

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    8. too obscene and vulgar - last warning

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    9. Wakakakakaka…

      What does one expect from an otakrosak?

      Tin kosong filled with inconsequential filths lah!

      Next time, u better quote Japanese source for what they had done to uplift the Taiwanese.

      So much so that, those diehard formosa converteds had to act more Japanese than the Japanese in treating the Chinese worse than what the Chinese had gotten from the real Jap.

      But u won't know bcoz u r putih2 sama munafik.

      Ooop… mana tu Royal Malay Regiment when the ragtagging zombieic pinoys INVADING Sabah?

      Instead, those pee-in-the-pant bolihland militias sent the Sabah/Sarawak natives arm forces to their gruesome deaths!

      Next may13???

      Oooop… they r trained to bully unarmed civilians, especially cinabeng, NO?

      Delete
    10. CK there must be a limit to provocation - this is racial baiting. Last warning

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    11. Can u distinguish what's provocation & what's FACT?

      & usually truth facts hurt the most, thus becoming provocations in the eyes of the morons!

      Delete
  3. Wakakakakakaka

    I was just waiting when Dong Jiao Zong (DJZ) or the Tamil Language champions were going to appear to defend their teaching of Maths and Science in the students Mother tongue, which explains why children from vernacular schools tends to score higher in such subjects.

    But it does not explain why other races especially the Malays are also increasingly enrolling their children into these vernacular schools which does not teach Maths and Science in Bahasa Melayu. Has it to do with the Quality and dedication of teaching in vernacular schools compared to National schools, or has it to do with more knowledgeable parents who wants their children to learn another language for the purpose of brighter prospects and future in employment or other economic or social opportunities?

    Now after all those champions of Malay Language, racists and religious bigots, unitarians language proponents seems to be losing the battle against PPSMI coming back under TDM dictate, finally Dong Jiao Zong (DJZ) emerges to join in the battle against English Language proponents.

    Unlike previously, when MCA under the BN regime uses such opportunities to make themselves as defenders of vernacular language for their own political agenda and DJZ collaborating with their MCA implants, the absence of MCA in this battle and DJZ going it alone is quite noticeable now. Does it not show clearly, MCA has deceived the Malaysian Chinese for their own political power and has always sodomised all the Chinese language proponents in disguise? Isn't that hypocritical? Even the funds for vernacular schools or universities were made to be given under the blessings and political prowess of MCA previously.

    Having said all that, isn't it clear when Education is politicised and messed up by politicians, the future well being of all Malaysian children as well as the most effective methods of education are seen secondary to only what the politicians think is the right policy within their own small world of what education is all about even though they are seen surrounded and advised by real professionals and experts in education?

    Why? That's solely because politicians always think the effectiveness of any major education policy is measured by the more important ideal of how many votes they can gather to be reelected according to their party's political ideologies.

    So, why didn't the Govt. allow schools a free hand to decide whether to implement PPSMI or in the mother tongue of parent's choice based instead of an overall blanket policy of PPSMI in all Bahasa Melayu medium or other vernacular languages and also facilitate the teaching, resources, facilities and examinations of Maths and Science in the languages chosen?

    Let the parents and the schools choose and decide for the education and best future of their students/children instead of politicians.

    It's the future of the Malaysian Students/children decided by Parents and not the future of politicians which is more important.

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  4. Just leave our existing education system alone. Don't change anything. Nobody will budge from their position. Malay, Chinese, Tamil or whatever. So just live with them all.

    Let parents decide what stream is best for their kids.

    Education Ministry please support and fund all 4 streams: National, Chinese, Tamil and yes, even International.

    At the end of the day the weak streams will die out. Law of the Jungle.

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    Replies
    1. Left them alone?

      The Nons will be alright, just like time before.

      But then all the sk would produce r Arabized zombies!

      Most of the other smart melayu families, either enrol their kids in vernacular/international schools.

      Soon, there will be no more ketuanan melayu. As zombies only aim for the 72 virgins in afterlife while those 'enlightened' don't even want to touch that ketuanan alifbata with a 10ft pole!

      The purelist melayu, ketuanan &/or liberal, WONT allow this! So the educational never-ending story repeats.

      Delete