Is English Not Important Anymore?
In Boleh-land, anything is possible. But the recent news that English is not a “must pass” subject for SPM almost made me fall off my chair. And if that didn’t shock me enough, the fact that national schools no longer teach English grammar definitely made me fall off my chair.
What’s our “amazing” education system coming to?!
I have heard that foreign universities no longer accept an “A” in our SPM English as satisfactory because our standards are so low! Instead, they now require standardized testing such as IELTS or the Cambridge O-levels 1119 paper.
As much as Bahasa Melayu (or is it back to Bahasa Malaysia now?!) is the main language in Malaysia, it is not the main language of the world. Even super-powers such as China still get their young to intensively study English because they know that English remains the lingua franca of the world and the gateway to better things!
Why should there even be any more deliberation over this in the Cabinet and why should the entire public’s opinion be consulted before a decision is made to preserve English or maintain the teaching of Math and Science in English? Parents will naturally want subjects their children can only score in especially in our exam-oriented environment but is this for their own good in the future when they can barely string together two words in English or appreciate English literature?
Dr M sums it up best and I can’t help agreeing:
“It is more like politics than education. They are not interested in education or acquiring knowledge. All they want to see is how many votes they can win. So I am afraid the country will go to the dogs…“I feel very sorry. In future, all Malays and Malaysians will be stupid.”
We don’t have to be like Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady but it is sad to see the way our education system is going. So carefully consider feeding your baby enriched DHA and AHA milk because they will only regress once they go to school!
