(Petaling Jaya,
Thursday):
I have today emailed to the Education Minister, Tan Sri
Musa Mohamad inviting him to the DAP Education Forum in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday
(in English) and on Monday (in Mandarin) to explain whether the Education
Development Blueprint 2001-2010 is still a policy draft open to public
discussion and influence or whether it is a set policy document where there is
only room for public feedback with regard to implemention and if so, the
percentage of the Blueprint which had already been implemented.
In my email, I asked Musa to attend the forum or to
delegate anyone from the trio of
two Deputy Education Ministers and one Parliamentary Secretary to the two DAP
education forums on the Education Development Blueprint 2001-2010.
The MCA Deputy Education Minister, Datuk Hon Choon Kam would be more
suitable for the second forum in Mandarin, both to be held at the Selangor
Chinese Assembly Hall, Kuala Lumpur at 8 p.m.
The two DAP education forums will be the first public
forums on the Education Development Blueprint 2001-2010 ever held in the
country, since the Blueprint was approved by the Cabinet 13 months ago on June
20, 2001 and its unveiling by the Education Minister in October last year.
I have also sent email to the Education director-general
Datuk Abdul Rafie Mahat to attend the two education forums, to explain at the
Sunday forum the study and recommendations made by the committee headed by him
on the use of English to teach mathematics and science in Standard One, Form One
and Lower Six in all national schools next year, what education
infrastructure had been prepared to raise English proficiency in schools and
universities, as well as why his committee had not recommended that English
should be made a compulsory pass subject for all public examinations if the
government is serious about enhancing English standards in schools and
universities.
Datuk Abdul Rafie
is also invited to the Monday education forum in Mandarin to explain why his
committee is of the view that English should also be used for the teaching of
mathematics and science in Chinese primary schools, when the past academic
performance of Chinese primary school pupils
in both mathematics and science had consistently been higher than
national primary school pupils.
Yesterday, Abdul
Rafie said that the Education Ministry is ready to implement the use of English
to teach mathematics and science in Standard One of Chinese primary schools once
the decision is made by the Cabinet.
It does not make
any educational sense to introduce the use of English to teach mathematics and
science for Standard One in Chinese primary schools and Abdul Rafie should
attend the DAP education forum on Monday (in Chinese) to explain the educational
rationale for such a drastic change – and whether there are no more
educationally sound proposals to raise the standard of English of Chinese
primary school pupils.
The Prime Minister,
Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was asked after the UMNO Supreme Council meeting
whether the Cabinet meeting
yesterday had decided that mathematics and science would be taught in English in
Chinese and Tamil schools. Mahathir
said no decision had been made but he was of the opinion that the move would
eventually be adopted in such schools.
There can be no
greater indication that Mahathir himself would want to see the use of English to
teach mathematics and science in Chinese and Tamil primary schools – which
makes it all the more imperative that Abdul Rafie should accept the invitation
to attend the DAP education forum on Monday
to focus on the Education Ministry’s insistence that English should be
used to teach mathematics and science in the Chinese and Tamil primary schools
despite the strong objection of Dong Jiao Zong and the Chinese community.
(25/7/2002)