Abolishing Ppsmi
Abolishing PPSMI-Our Government’s Magnificent Mistake (I just had to post this: NST kinda mangled my letter lol)
It seems the decision is final. The Government has decided to abolish the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English (PPSMI), ignoring the protests of the Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE), and even ignored the idea of providing options for those who wishes to learn the two subjects in English. Needless to say, many people are unsatisfied with the ‘explanation’ and ‘rationale’ of the government, which seem neither properly explained nor even rational, myself included. I know this letter might be ignored by the policy-makers, but I think it’s quite right for one who disagrees to point out why they do so, without being stifled under the pretence of ‘accepting the abolition with an open heart’ (refer to comment by the Kedah GPMS, NST 1 Nov 2011, page 6).
First, the decision of the government to abolish PPSMI was done after ‘considering all views’, according to our current Deputy Prime Minister. He never really told us if all views were fairly represented, or even those who voiced out their views are even qualified to do so. PAGE has good reason to voice their support for the policy, as they are parents concerned with the future of their children’s education, and are valid interested parties. Undoubtedly, there are also parents who are against PPSMI due to concerns for their children, but what business has Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, A Samad Said, Gerakan Mansuhkan PPSMI (GMP) and the Malaysia Linguistic Association (PLM) to make comments on this issue? Anybody is entitled to their opinion, but it seems quite stupid of the government to agree to the opinions of these groups, who are not even involved in the teaching of Maths and Science, and who, other than the pretentious title of ‘defenders of national language’ (refer to argument below), have nothing to contribute to this debate. This is true in the case of DBP, whose lack of production or even
It seems the decision is final. The Government has decided to abolish the teaching of Mathematics and Science in English (PPSMI), ignoring the protests of the Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE), and even ignored the idea of providing options for those who wishes to learn the two subjects in English. Needless to say, many people are unsatisfied with the ‘explanation’ and ‘rationale’ of the government, which seem neither properly explained nor even rational, myself included. I know this letter might be ignored by the policy-makers, but I think it’s quite right for one who disagrees to point out why they do so, without being stifled under the pretence of ‘accepting the abolition with an open heart’ (refer to comment by the Kedah GPMS, NST 1 Nov 2011, page 6).
First, the decision of the government to abolish PPSMI was done after ‘considering all views’, according to our current Deputy Prime Minister. He never really told us if all views were fairly represented, or even those who voiced out their views are even qualified to do so. PAGE has good reason to voice their support for the policy, as they are parents concerned with the future of their children’s education, and are valid interested parties. Undoubtedly, there are also parents who are against PPSMI due to concerns for their children, but what business has Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, A Samad Said, Gerakan Mansuhkan PPSMI (GMP) and the Malaysia Linguistic Association (PLM) to make comments on this issue? Anybody is entitled to their opinion, but it seems quite stupid of the government to agree to the opinions of these groups, who are not even involved in the teaching of Maths and Science, and who, other than the pretentious title of ‘defenders of national language’ (refer to argument below), have nothing to contribute to this debate. This is true in the case of DBP, whose lack of production or even