PepeSmee.

A few days ago I wrote to a local paper regarding the Teaching Sci and Maths in English medium issue, also known as PPSMI (the full term is in Bahasa Malaysia). All the hype is being toned down by all main papers, probably because the Education Ministry is sticking to their latest change in policy and will not be swayed by the opinions of the 'minority' voting public.

Democracy sucks when it comes to this.

The contents of my letter mirrors parts of this article below. A rough translation accompanies each paragraph for those less fluent in my national language, BM.

Berita Harian, 18 Julai 2009

Sabah&Sarawak: Mansuh PPSMI dapat tingkat pencapaian pelajar pedalaman

PENSIANGAN (Sabah): Ibu bapa dan murid di kawasan pedalaman di sini yakin pemansuhan Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam Bahasa Inggeris (PPSMI) pada 2012 bakal meningkatkan murid cemerlang kedua-dua subjek itu dalam peperiksaan utama.

Parents and teachers in the rural areas here are confident that the 'cancelation' of PPSMI in 2012 will increase the number of students who will achieve good results in the two subjects in public examinations.

Ini kerana PPSMI menyebabkan kebanyakan pelajar sama ada di sekolah rendah atau menengah di pedalaman gagal mencapai kejayaan cemerlang dalam peperiksaan utama berikutan tidak memahami bahasa Inggeris.

This is because most students in primary or secondary schools in rural areas fail to achieve good results in public exams due to their inability to understand English.

Dengan mengikuti pengajaran dan pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik dalam bahasa Malaysia, mereka yakin lebih mudah memahaminya, sekali gus mencapai kejayaan dalam Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) dan Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).

By following the teaching of Science and Mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia (national language), we are confident [sic] that they will be able to understand the subjects better, and thus achieve good results in UPSR, PMR and SPM (main examinations in primary and secondary schools in Malaysia).

Ketua Kampung Sumabi, Mantoi Paling, 59, berkata murid di kampung itu sukar memahami Sains dan Matematik yang diajar dalam bahasa Inggeris kerana tidak menguasai bahasa berkenaan.

Sumabi Village Chief, Mantoi Paling, 59, says that students in the village find it hard to understand Science and Mathematics that are taught in English because they are not fluent in the language.

"Kami gembira kerana anak kami lebih memahami Sains dan Matematik yang diajar dalam bahasa Malaysia. Dalam peperiksaan UPSR, PMR dan SPM sejak beberapa tahun lalu, tidak ramai murid di kampung ini mendapat keputusan cemerlang kerana tidak memahami bahasa Inggeris," katanya kepada Berita Harian, di sini semalam.

"We are happy because our kid [sic] can better understand Science and Mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia. In UPSR, PMR and SPM in the past few years, not many students in the village can achieve good results because they do not understand English," he said to Berita Harian, here yesterday.

Seorang penduduk, John Edward Limposon, 58, berkata PPSMI hanya akan berkesan jika sekolah di pedalaman dilengkapi kemudahan asas, terutama bekalan tenaga elektrik, jalan raya dan makmal komputer.

A villager, John Edward Limposon, 58, says that PPSMI is only effective if rural schools are equipped with basic necessities, especially electrical supply, roads and computer labs.

Katanya, PPSMI tidak berkesan kerana komputer yang dibekalkan di sekolah pedalaman tidak mampu digunakan sepenuhnya kerana ketiadaan bekalan tenaga elektrik.

He says, PPSMI is not effective because the computers provided to the rural schools are not used fully due to the lack of electrical supply.

"Untuk mendapatkan sumber tenaga, sekolah terpaksa bergantung kepada generator. Inilah masalah dihadapi pelajar di pedalaman seperti kampung ini," katanya.

"To get an energy source, the school has depend on generators. This is the problem faced by rural students in areas such like this village," he says.

Pensiangan adalah satu daripada kawasan luar bandar di Sabah. Dengan jarak kira-kira 80 kilometer dari Keningau, daerah ini jauh ketinggalan dari aspek kemudahan asas seperti jalan raya, tenaga dan air.

Pensiangan is one of the rural areas in Sabah. Located nearly 80 kilometres from Keningau, this province is far behind in many aspects such as basic facilities like roads, energy and water.

Murid Tahun 5 Sekolah Kebangsaan Pensiangan, Willie Mantoi, berkata beliau dan murid lain sukar memahami PPSMI kerana tidak menguasai bahasa berkenaan.

Primary 5 student of Pensiangan National School, Willie Mantoi, says that he and other students find it hard to understand PPSMI because they are not fluent in the language.

"Memang bagus dapat belajar Sains dan Matematik dengan menggunakan komputer tetapi kami tidak faham kerana ia diajar dalam bahasa Inggeris," katanya.

"It is good to learn Science and Mathematics with computers but we do not understand because the subjects were taught in English," he says.

Seorang guru di SK Sibangali yang enggan dikenali, berkata PPSMI tidak berkesan kerana komputer dalam makmal komputer sering rosak akibat terpaksa bergantung kepada generator.

A teacher in Sibangali National school who refused to be identified, says that PPSMI is not effective because computers in the computer lab break down a lot due to its dependence on generators.

"Kemudahan komputer untuk PPSMI di pedalaman tidak dapat digunakan seperti di bandar kerana sumber tenaga bergantung kepada generator," katanya.

"Computer facilities for PPSMI in rural areas cannot be used as they are used in urban areas because their power source depends on generators," it says.

----
1. I find the news article redundant and repetitive (i'm being redundant here as a point) at so many levels. They need better editors.

2. Notice that the quoted villagers have English names: John Edward, Willie... IF the majority of the people there cannot speak English, why do they have English names?

3. Energy sources = generators. Can somebody send people over to Sabah to check out the situation, rather than just sit in their offices reading graphs and statistics off a sheet of paper, information written by people who also have not left their offices and flown over to check out the real reason behind this lack of competition by rural area students vs urban area students?

4. You can't expect kids to know a subject taught in a language they are not fluent in. True? True.
You can't expect kids to know a language without teaching them first. Correct? Correct.
You can't expect teachers to teach a language if they are not fluent in that language. Understand? Understood.
So.. rather than send teachers who can teach the language and the subjects, they revert everything back to BM, because it is easier for everyone. Betul? Lazy, irresponsible, selfish, ridiculous... but ya, Betul.

5. Beliau in the article should only be used for people of importance, not for a Year 5 student. Again, they need better editors.

6. I grew up in Sabah. Tawau. They want to turn it into a city in the next decade but when I was growing up there, it can be considered a rural area. Okay I exaggerate, yes, we have electricity and indoor plumbing.

But we were still quite dependent on generators because our TNB had lousy dynamos / electricity generators. Even now, citizens of Tawau experience blackouts occasionally. We are used to it. If it were to happen in Peninsular Malaysia, it would be headline news.

But anyways, my sisters and I grew up in Tawau, Sabah. We can speak Mandarin, English and BM and people can understand us in all three languages. We can also speak Hokkien. I am learning Hakka and Cantonese. My sister, married to a hokchiew, is learning that dialect. My other sister is learning Kadazandusun in university and can speak fluent Korean and even write it because of her love of Korean boy bands and Korean music overall. The last one knows sms shorthand and Internet language. I can barely understand her sometimes. But that is not the point.

Despite the many other forms of communication we can use or languages we can speak, we are all agreeable to having Science and Mathematics taught in English. Not because we can understand the language, or that we can score in the subject during public examination, but because we know and acknowledge the importance of learning the two subjects in a language that will prepare students for future advancement during higher education.

You can't always live in the moment. You have to be prepared for tomorrow today. And even if you do not want to or were unable to reap the benefits of this policy, you should at least give your kids that opportunity.

Otherwise, you're being selfish, or a politician fishing for votes while denying it.