In KUALA LUMPUR

MANY years ago, I met an English-language teacher from a school on Pangkor island, and it stunned me to hear that she had failed one of the national English exams.

It was an optional English paper, equivalent to the GCE O-Levels English exam, which was offered as part of the school-leaving exam called the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).

Pangkor island, off the coast of Perak, is rural with mostly fishing villages, and its teachers were not the best.

This left me with a deep sympathy for rural kids and their struggle to learn English. And I do understand why they and their parents are so resistant to the government’s attempts give greater importance to English in the Malaysian school system.

This problem resurfaced yet again this week after the Education Ministry asked for feedback on a proposal to make English a mandatory pass in the SPM.

While many academics and politicians support it, The Star reported that the majority of the 500 parents who rang the Ministry were stoutly against it.

Students never had to pass English before to obtain the school-leaving certificate but they must pass Bahasa Malaysia. According to Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, the pass rate for English is around 70 per cent.

Besides this proposal, the government is also reviewing the controversial policy to teach Mathematics and Science in English. It will decide in a week or two whether to continue, scrap or modify the policy.

The policy is intended to familiarise students with technical terms in English to prepare them for higher education, but there has been a strong backlash.

It’s not hard to understand why. Part of the reason is the simple fact that rural kids will lose out. With the lack of resources in their schools, the students simply have no means to learn enough English to pass the subject.

If they fail, they will also fail the entire exam if a pass in English is made compulsory. This leaves them with barely any job options as the SPM is about the minimum required by many employers.

(The other source of resistance to greater English use comes from language nationalists who fear a dilution of the mother tongue.)

This is a political minefield for the Barisan Nasional government as the rural constituencies remain its strongest political base. At a time when the BN is severely weakened, it will be even less willing to take risks.

The opposition – in particular Parti Islam SeMalaysia and Parti Keadilan Rakyat – is also against the use of English to teach Math and Science, but has not disclosed its position on making English a compulsory pass.

The BN will have to tread carefully, but at the same time, it needs to do something drastic to raise the standard of English which has fallen to dismal levels. Horror stories abound about how school-leavers and graduates struggle to speak even simple English.

It could find it easier if it did things the right way round – ensure that there are competent teachers and adequate resources – before imposing a mandatory pass. A good part of the resistance will melt away.

Anyhow, is there really a need for 'passing' or 'failing' the SPM?

Perhaps, the exam cert would serve its purpose better if it listed all subjects taken along with the grade obtained.

It would be for the universities, scholarship foundations and employers to decide if the school-leaver meets their requirements.

That raises the other question, of course – does the SPM meet the standards of a credible school-leaving exam? That’s another issue. So many issues!