KUCHING: Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) youth chief, Datuk Snowdan Lawan, is not too worked up over the “gasak ajak” (muddle through) statement by Education, Science and Technological Research Minister Datuk Seri Michael Manyin recently.
Manyin said that teachers who were assigned to teach Science and Mathematics in English do not need to have perfect command of the language at first. They could just use “local English” and try to improve as they go along.
The efforts to start with Year 1 pupils next year, which will involve 1,265 primary schools and more than 2,800 teachers throughout the state, has generally received positive public response, and Snowdan is quite sure that the teachers would be well-equipped to undertake their tasks.
“Teachers, parents and the general public should give the thumbs-up to this move. There shouldn’t be any problem that can’t be solved as English is never out of reach of most Sarawakians. It remains a subject in school; written and spoken widely in a large spectrum of our society, be it in offices or conversations, and it is still a lingua franca in court and trade. It is not new to us, so why fret?” he said.
Snowdan is quite confident that the teachers will do their jobs well, so wants people to trust them to do the right thing.
With support from the state Education, Science and Technological Research Ministry in parallel with consistent programmes such SELES (Sarawak English Language Education Symposium) like the recent one held in Sibu, the teachers would eventually get in stride.
“Initially they may have stage fright, shy and nervous. This is normal. As they go along, they will improve. Somehow we have to start. Better to be late than never.
“All along we have been calling for the use of English in school pursuant to the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) which spells out our autonomy in the field. This is the time to begin no matter what,” he said.
Snowdan affirmed that Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) helmed by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg is totally supportive of the undertaking including providing further training or calling for volunteer teachers probably from Commonwealth countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and England.
