BATU PAHAT: A study by Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM), a Malay NGO, indicating that 50 per cent of parents prefer the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) is inaccurate as it was not comprehensive, Deputy Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi said yesterday.
He said the study did not consider various aspects but merely depended on whether or not the parents agreed to the PPSMI approach.
“The study did not cover the effectiveness of the PPSMI in improving students’ command of the English language. It was not done empirically and is, therefore, not comprehensive,” he told reporters at his Aidilfitri open house.
On the other hand, the ministry had carried out a detailed study and held several roundtable discussions with the country’s educational experts before the PPSMI was discontinued, he said.
Mohd Puad said the ministry also discontinued the PPSMI based on poor results by the students in science and mathematics in the 2008 UPSR (standard six) and PMR (lower secondary) examinations.
He explained that when the PPSMI was implemented, only eight per cent of teachers used English fully for the two subjects as most of them were not trained and not proficient in the language.
“Many quarters had misunderstood the ‘Upholding the Malay Language and Strengthening the Command of English’ (MBMMBI) policy as a government move to sideline the English language.
“What we intend for students is for them to be competent in English but via a different approach,” he explained.
Meanwhile, he said, the move by the ministry to consider giving autonomy to schools to choose whether to use Bahasa Melayu or English in the teaching of science and mathematics did not mean that it was reverting to the PPSMI.
“We are considering the suggestion by taking into account various aspects but it does not mean that we are going back to the PPSMI,” he said. — Bernama