THE teaching of Mathematics and Science in English started more than FIVE years ago but Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris lecturer Professor Datuk Dr Isahak Haron has just opened his eyes.
In an interview published in the New Sunday Times the born-again 'Malay Nationalist' claims that the change to English was an ’irresponsible move’, and that many students have lost out due of the policy.
The seasoned journalists who conducted the interview floated some really good arguments but the nationalist seems unperturbed, knowing well that he is just JUSTIFYING and ENDORSING a drastic move which has been decided upon.
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is going to revert the teaching of Science and Mathematics from English to Bahasa Malaysia pretty soon.
It is not a decision based on the lame and idiotic reasons discovered by the nationalist professor from UPSI but more a DESPERATE move to appease the angry Malays.
Abdullah is trying to score maximum points by portraying himself as a saviour of the Malay language, at a time when his popularity is below the deepest well in the country.
Abdullah and his goons are also enthusiastic as such a move would put Dr.Mahathir in bad light.
Just decipher the nationalist professor's response to the two questions below, and try to figure out his IQ.
Q: Would it have made a difference if the teachers had had a better command of English?
A: That will take 10 or 20 more years then.
Q: Isn't it possible to have a concurrent system? Because if you abandon things because they don't work within five years, then you can never start anything.
A: This is what Dr Mahathir's (former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) people are talking about. They don't care about the 70 or 80 per cent of the children. All they care about is that their agenda is correct. It doesn't matter if it takes 20 years; you see his gamble?
New Sunday Times - 7 Sept, 2008
(Dr.Mahathir's people ? Who are they Mr. (Nutty) Professor? Excuse me, are you an Umno politician from the other side of the divide ? You call yourself an educationist ? May God save our children).
p/s1 Pak Lah, Malaysians are unhappy with your TOTAL FAILURE as the Prime Minister of this country. Stop your stupid racial politics and get real. If you revert the system, thousands of students are going to suffer.
At least consult your wife, she looks a little intelligent and appears to be genuinely concerned about our children.
p/s2 Mr.Prof, you could have gone a long way through your 'ball carrying' skills but its a pity that the owner of the 'balls' is at the tail-end of his disastrous journey. I think you should go and pick-up Jawi from Lee Kim Sai.
9 comments:
Talking cock.
BTW, what is the medium of instruction for maths & science in those international schools.
And BTW again, how many ministers & those bn ultra malays send their kids & grandchildren to these international schools.
Prof, dok je lah bawah tempurung tu...
hai,
fyi that prof is related to paklah on his mother's side (bayan lepas, penang). prof's wife is the niece of musa hitam.
btw my daugther is sitting for her upsr this week. average student but her english is good though i rarely communicate with in that language
Alamak, mengapa U so critik pada PM Abdullah? All the time he was so gentelman and never said a single bad word about Dr Mhaathir. It is only Dr. Mahathir who selalu hentam the Pm with his words. That's not adil lah!
Make Dunno Only. Don't Become a Racist or Satan.
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If you have read Anwarwood Productions latest script, you would have understood what is happening in Penang and all the news as reported in MSN, Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today and other blogger's websites. Some may have high blood pressure, a stroke or even a heart attack by now.
However, my advice to all Malaysians is , "Make Dunno Only!". Continue with your Fast, make preparations for Hari Raya and Mooncake festivals or whatever festivals coming your way.
For those who don't have any upcoming festivals to celebrate, then, may I suggest, we make preparations to celebrate Malaysia Day on 16 September which is the day Malaysia was born, 45 years ago, together with our fellow brothers and sisters from East Malaysia.
If you want to continue getting excited with the news and stories coming out from Penang, then may I suggest the following for you to ponder.
1. Ahmad says Chinese are immigrants or squatters. - Tell me who isn't an immigrant or a squatter in this world?
2. If you are sensitive to the words immigrants or squatters. - I have heard much worst than that over the past 51 years. I am already desensitised.
3. Ahmad tore Tsu Khoon pictures. - No big deal. It would be better if Ahmad had called him, Ka Ting, Sammy Veloo and all those other representatives of BN parties and slap them all instead for not conforming to the spirit of the Malaysian Constitution and doing trade bartering of rights of human beings for their own party interests.
4. Ahmad talking for all Malaysians Malays? - What about DSAI? Maybe Ahmad only represent the 50 or so followers he has. Maybe he can try buying more followers.
5. Ahmad talking for all Moslems? - What about Tok Guru? Is Ahmad an ulama?
6. Reporters get threaten and so forth. - Why are the MSN reporters there in the first place? Why after interviewing Ahmad, then run to interview other BN leaders? Is the news so important that it is worth reporting? Why don't interview Malaysians on the street and ask them what they think of Ahmad and other BN leaders.
7. Use ISA, Sedition Act and so forth. - For once, I totally agree, but it is only to be used only on BN politicians. After everyone is locked up, then abolish it.
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Buat Dunno Sahaja. Jangan Jadi seorang Rasis atau Setan.
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Jika anda telah membaca skrip terkini Anwarwood Produksi, anda akan memahami apa yang
sedang berlaku di Pulau Pinang dan segala berita yang di laporkan di MSN, Malaysiakini, Malaysia Today dan web bloger-bloger. Sesetengah mungkin sudah mengalami darah tinggi, strok ataupun sakit jantung sekarang.
Tetapi, nasihat saya kepada semua rakyat Malaysia ialah " Buat Dunno Sahaja!. Teruskan berpuasa, buatkan persiapan untuk Hari Raya dan Mooncake ataupun apa-apa perayaan yang akan menjelma untuk anda.
Kepada mereka-mereka yang tiada perayaan untuk diraikan, maka izinkan saya mencadangkan membuat persiapan untuk meraikan Hari Malaysia pada 16 September iaitu penubuhan negara Malaysia, 45 tahun dahulu, bersama-sama rakan-rakan dan sahabat-sahabat kita di Malaysia Timur.
Jika anda masih nak ghairah dengan berita dan cerita yang terbit daripada Pulau Pinang, maka, izinkan saya mencadangkan berikut untuk renungan anda.
1. Ahmad berkata orang Cina adalah pendatang atau penumpang. - Bagitahu saya siapa yang bukan pendatang ataupun penumpang di dunia ini?
2. Jika anda sensitif kepada perkataan pendatang atu penumpang. - Saya pernah dengar ungkapan lebih teruk dari itu sejak 51 tahun dahulu. Saya sudah biasa tidak sensitif lagi
3. Ahmad telah mengoyakkan gambar Tsu Khoon. - Bukan ada apa-apapun. Lebik baik Ahmad memanggil dia, Ka Ting, Sammy Veloo dan semua wakil-wakil parti BN dan menampar mereka semua kerana tidak memenuhi aspirasi Perlembagaan Malaysia dan memperdagangkan serta tawar-menawar hak manusia untuk kepentingan parti mereka.
4. Ahmad bercakap untuk orang Melayu Malaysia. - Bagaimana tentang DSAI? Mungkin Ahmad cuma mewakili lebih kurang 50 pengikut yang dia ada. Mungkin dia boleh cuba membeli lebih ramai pengikut.
5. Ahmad bercakap untuk semua Muslim? - Bagaimana dengan Tok Guru? Adakah Ahmad seorang ulama?
6. Wartawan dicabar dan lain-lain. - Apa sebab wartawan MSN berada disana? Kenapa selepas interbiu Ahmad, berlari interbiu pemimpin BN yang lain? Adakah berita sabagini bagitu penting untuk dilaporkan. Kenapa tidak interbiu rakyat Malaysia di jalanan dan tanya mereka apa pendapat mereka tentang Ahmad dan lain-lain pemimpin BN.
7. Gunakan ISA, Akta Hasutan dan lain-lain. - Untuk buat yang pertama sekalinya sahaja, saya setuju sepenuhnya, tetapi hanya untuk orang-orang politik BN sahaja. Selepas mereka-mereka di kurungkan, maka haruslah ianya dihapuskan.
http://patek1472.wordpress.com
The Borneo Post
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008
Five years too short to draw conclusion: Gani
MIRI: The five-year time-frame for teaching Mathematics and Science in the English language is too short to be conclusive. More time is needed.
“It would be too harsh to change course midway as parents are sending children to pre-school to study English to have a good foundation to study Science and Mathematics.”
STU president William Gani Bina said this when asked to comment on the study of the policy by Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), based on over 3,000 Year 5 pupils and 2,800 Form 2 students around the country via short Mathematics, Science and English language tests conducted between February last year and January this year.
The schoolchildren were a mix of urban, rural and vernacular schools in Peninsular Malaysia, and the tests comprise modified past-year examination questions, some having been taken straight out of textbooks.
Some 1,700 Year 5 pupils tested this January had a mean score of 7.89 out of a maximum 20 for Mathematics.
A national daily New Straits Times on Monday reported that the results were not much better for Science: a mean of 4.08 out of 14.
English proficiency was not good either: a mean of 11.87 out of 31.
The mean scores of Malay and Orang Asli pupils were much lower than those of the Chinese and Indians, said study leader Professor Emeritus Datuk Isahak Haron who called the policy a failure, particularly in terms of its impact on Malay students in national schools (sekolah kebangsaan).
In the survey, many Year 5 pupils told researchers they found it hard to learn Mathematics and Science in English, and that they did not understand the lessons.
In one sample, less than a fifth of Year 5 Malay students surveyed found it easy to learn Science in English, and about a third thought it easy to learn Mathematics in English.
When a sample of 1,300 Malay students were asked how well they understood the Mathematics and Science lessons when taught in English, over 60 per cent said they “sometimes” understood the lessons.
The policy failed in its aim of improving the pupils’ command of English, said Isahak, a lecturer at the Faculty of Cognitive Science and Human Development.
Students struggled to complete even simple sentences, he said, citing the following sentence in a passage taken out of a school textbook: “He ____ to bed” (The answer is “went”.)
The professor called for a return to the teaching of Mathematics and Science in Bahasa Malaysia.
But Gani disagreed, saying it was too harsh and more time should be given for indepth studies by professionals on whether it was weakness in implementation rather than policy that cause these setbacks.
He pointed that when the policy was drawn up by the former prime minister, it was never about the English language flourishing (among the students) but the importance of Science and Mathematics in technology at the world stage, and for Malaysia to be competitive.
Terminologies in English are different from those in Bahasa Melayu, Chinese, Japanese and Arab, with English the dominant language of technology and science in the world.
“Some people may argue that even China can send a man to space but one must remember that they have 9,000 years of civilisation unlike us. Translation (of knowledge) from English (into another language and vice versa) takes time, so it could become obsolete (by the time it got translated) in the fast changing world,” he added.
Gani believed that more time should be given to professional educationists in the ministry to do their homework and indepth study on this policy.
“There is no such thing as ‘karbon dioksida’ when we go abroad, only ‘carbon dioxide’; nor ‘jentolak’, only ‘tractor’ as English is the pillar of science in the global stage,” he said, pointing out the difference in interpretation and terminologies.
p/s The people in Borneo seem to be in a better state of understanding about the present world scenario and what it takes to 'play in that field'.
ApaiRanger
Rokiah said...
Alamak, mengapa U so critik pada PM Abdullah? All the time he was so gentelman and never said a single bad word about Dr Mhaathir. It is only Dr. Mahathir who selalu hentam the Pm with his words. That's not adil lah!
Apanama :
What you say is very true Cik.Rokiah.
You should rightfully wonder why Tun Dr.Mahathir is still speaking out when he could ENJOY his retirement and NOT BOTHER about what is happening to us.
He could be riding horse or sailing instead of trying to drive sense into the Malays in this nation. WHY is he doing it?
He is not rying to become the Prime Minister. Unlike in other places, Dr.M didnt lose any election nor was he thrown out of office.
He is the only electecd leader in the world to pass the baton gracefully... BUT made a grave mistake before signing off as the BEST EVER PM OF MALAYSIA.
He was deceived by a wolf in sheeps clothing, and this mistake hurts Dr.M more than anything else now.
Abdullah doesnt say anything because he is either playing dumb or is worried of being cornered by Dr.M.
As Malaysian could witness, POWER HAS CORRUPTED ABDULLAH BADAWI TO THE CORE.
The once 'Clean Man' has become so dirty now that the number of rodents around him have increased.
Rokiah, we could hire a mute gentleman as PM if we want someone who doesn't say anything. (But even a mute might use sign languages to articulate his thoughts)
Maybe Pak Lah qualifies to be the next Imam of a surau in Permatang Pauh ... full stop. (Guan Eng might increase allowances for Imams if you tell him this)
Tuan Apanama,/
I see you are very annoyed to PM Abdullah. Please be sabar with him maybe he need more time to grow into his job. He may be slow to pick up the rope.
Malaysians, please do not waste any more time in this debate... even China is doubling their learning of English. China realises that India is making more strides in acquiring the latest hi-tech knowledge transfer because of India's English advantage.
I live in China and I see parents here paying big money to send their children to study in English. Yes, there is a some setback to the few batches of students but the Country will gain in the long term. To revert will be irreparable damage -- the result will be the widening of gap between the rural and urban students, the rich and the poor. If we revert, it will be much harder for students from the rural areas to get access to the wealth of knowledge that are readily available in English.
I was the last badge of Malay Medium student in the dual system of English/Malay Medium. I know I was disadvantaged because of my lack of English proficiency.
Sayangmalaysia
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