Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah
KUCHING: National schools in the state will only be able to use English as the medium of instruction if there are changes in existing laws and policies that would give Sarawak autonomy over its education.
Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said barring such changes, Bahasa Malaysia will remain the medium of instruction for all national schools in the country.
“Education is still under the purview of the federal government and we (Sarawak) are part of Malaysia and as such, are bound by the Federal Constitution and the National Language Act as well as the Education Act.
“So unless there is a change in the law, unless Sarawak has the autonomy on education like before, the hard fact is that Bahasa Malaysia should be the legal medium of instruction in our schools. We have to follow,” she told The Borneo Post when contacted yesterday.
Fatimah was responding to a news report that the Education Ministry was against the use of English as the medium of instruction in national schools in the country.
The ministry in a written parliamentary reply was responding to Batang Sadong MP Dato Sri Nancy Shukri who had asked for the ministry’s stance on Sarawak schools using English as the medium of instruction.
On the past proposal for the reintroduction of teaching Mathematics and Science in English, Fatimah explained that during that time, schools were given a choice to use English for the two subjects if they were ready and had majority support from parents.
“It (teaching Mathematics and Science in English) was not meant to replace Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction but (only) for certain subjects because after all, most science and scientific articles and books are written in English.
“It was proposed to enhance or raise the standard of English among the young and future generation,” she pointed out.
However, Fatimah pointed out that various issues such as training, recruitment and posting of teachers must be addressed first before schools can raise the standard of English among students.
“Learning English or other foreign languages requires a great amount of time and exposure in using the language in writing and communicating. We need the right teachers with finesse for the job and not some square peg in a round hole.”