What's the fuss? Our students are coping well with English in Science and Mathematics

On Tuesday (10 Mar 2009), it was reported in the newspapers that 92.7 percent of the total of 53,638 candidates -- or 49,722 candidates -- who sat for the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examination last year opted to answer the Science and Mathematics papers in English.

“Candidates don’t take risks in examinations and if they were not comfortable (with the language), they would not have answered in English,” Malaysian Examinations Council chairman Prof Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said. This was an increase of 0.8 percentage points compared with the previous year.

Since 2004, candidates have been given the choice of answering the Science and Mathematics papers -- Mathematics S, Mathematics T, Further Mathematics T, Computing, Physics, Chemistry and Biology -- in English, Bahasa Malaysia or in both languages.

Then on Friday (13 Mar 2009), the newspapers quoted Education director-general Alimuddin Mohd Dom as saying that in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) last year, 89.1 percent of 178,751 candidates opted to answer the Additional Mathematics Paper 1 fully in English.

“I am satisfied as I see more students choosing to answer mainly subjective papers such as Chemistry 2 and 3 in English.” He said that 71.3 percent and 76.8 percent of students who sat for Chemistry Papers 2 and 3, respectively, answered in English. Other subjects which had high percentages of being answered fully in English include Additional Mathematics Paper 2 at 86.2 percent, Biology Paper 3 (81.5 percent) and Chemistry Paper 3 (76.8 percent).

More telling, he said students who sat for the SPM last year were the second batch to have studied Science and Mathematics subjects in English since the introduction of the policy in 2003. There was little difference in performance between students in urban and rural areas.

This is proof that our students are coping well with the teaching of Science and Mathematics in the English language in the schools. Isn’t this good enough reason to retain this education policy? Anyone who disagree is short-sighted and myopic.