Newly-appointed Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid defended his decision to postpone making English a mandatory pass subject for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations, saying that pushing forward would be unfair to students and teachers in Malaysia’s rural areas.
“We have to postpone because it is unfair for students in the rural and interior areas.
“For example, in Sabah, some take three hours to reach the school via boat. And then, they have to ride on a truck to get to school,” he told The Malaysian Insider‘s Nabihah Hamid.
He asserted that students in urban areas were more prepared to master English quickly.
“Schools in towns and cities are more prepared. There is no problem (for them) if we implement it. We have to give more time to teachers to be better prepared. When it is time, we will implement it and there will be no further delays,” Mahdzir assured.
“The teachers’ training institutions (IPG) have to be on top of things and ensure that there are enough English teachers. In fact, the teachers have to be determined in their preparation.
The minister also sought to explain the postponement of Science Paractical Examinations for Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Additional Science, saying that many schools were not yet well-equipped enough to conduct them.
“The proposal is good for students who can understand the process of learning better, but some schools don’t even have laboratories. So how?”
