Better English means better future, say PTA heads

JOHOR BARU: Improving the quality of English language education would lead to a better future for Malaysian pupils, say parent-teacher associations (PTAs).

SJK(T) Taman Tun Aminah PTA chairman Datuk P. Raju said it is good news that the Education Ministry will be focusing on improving the teaching of English.

He said there is an increasing number of parents registering their children at the five Tamil schools that have the Dual Language Programme (DLP) in Johor Baru as they want their children to have a good command of English.

“It is a move by the ministry that we welcome it as it will provide a good future for our children, with English being a global language.

“I just hope that the policy will not change in the future, as parents have always wanted the English language to be among the important subjects taught in schools,” he said here yesterday.

SJKT Mount Austin PTA president James Selvananthan said greater focus should be given to primary school pupils.

“Learning English should start from young. Once primary school pupils move to secondary schools and later on to higher learning institutes, they will not face any difficulty speaking the language,” he added.

He also said the Education Ministry must make sure teachers are well equipped to teach English, and they should be encouraged to attend English courses.

Earlier yesterday, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said mastery of the English language is a key priority for her ministry, and it projected it would need 10,000 teachers trained in English within the next five years.