Sarawak is taking the lead and will start teaching maths and science in English to Year One pupils from next year.
THIS week, a Sarawak minister announced that the state will teach Year One pupils Mathematics and Science in English from 2020.
According to the state's Education, Science and Technological Research Minister Datuk Seri Michael Manyin, this will involve 1,046 primary schools, but would not include Chinese-medium schools, which have indicated their preference to teach both subjects in Chinese.
This is something that has been talked about since federal Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik paid a courtesy call on Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg on April 24, and conveyed the Prime Minister's request for Sarawak to teach both subjects in English.
As Manyin tells it, this came rather out of the blue but was immediately accepted by the state.
"After the main discussion, the minister all of a sudden made an offer to our Chief Minister, asking whether Sarawak would like to take the lead to use English as a medium to teach Maths and Science.
"He did not mention primary or secondary schools; he just asked whether Sarawak would take up the challenge.
"Without any hesitation, our Chief Minister said yes, we will take the lead," he recounted at a press conference on Wednesday (May 29).
After preliminary meetings with education department and ministry officials, Manyin said Sarawak decided to start with Year One pupils next year.
Some 2,657 teachers will be trained to teach the subjects in English, with the training expected to start at the end of August, while textbooks will be printed based on the current Dual Language Programme books.
There has been so much back-and-forth on using English to teach Maths and Science over the years that it's encouraging to see this positive move by the state in tandem with Putrajaya.
Implementing this in Sarawak is far less likely to be a risk in terms of the language issue being politicised or getting a hostile reaction, as English is the state's second official language and the use of English is one of the state's rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
Indeed, Manyin said he did not anticipate many objections as there had already been a positive response from parents.
He was also right to point out that the intention of the move was to improve English proficiency among students and thus their future prospects in the job market and on the world stage.
Teaching Maths and Science in English would increase the Year One pupils' exposure to the language to seven-and-a-half hours a week, he said.
"At the end of Year Six, I think most of them will be confident to speak English.
"It's a big challenge, and we cannot afford to fail. We must succeed."
But that is easier said than done. What is needed is clear-sighted and long-term planning to ensure that the programme can be implemented properly, not only in Year One next year but in Years Two to Six, as well as secondary schools in the years to come.
This shouldn't just be a one-off programme but must be sustained over the years.
As one parent said, there's no point teaching both subjects in English now if students will still have to learn them in Bahasa Malaysia for SPM later on.
Of course, teachers must be adequately trained and supported to make it work.
On this note, it's encouraging that education ministry officials fully support Sarawak's efforts in this, as mentioned by Manyin.
This cooperation will be needed not only in training teachers but in ensuring smooth implementation of the programme.
As we look forward to its commencement next year, we hope to see it continue and grow over the years as a sustainable means of improving English proficiency.
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