MALAY SECONDARY SCHOOLS (Teaching of Science and Mathematics in English)

Tuan Haji Mohd. Ariff Bin Suradi asked the Minister for Education in how many Malay secondary school classes are Science and Mathematics taught in English and in which schools.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education (Inche Mohd. Ghazali Bin Ismail) (for the Minister for Education): Sir, out of the 12 secondary schools which have a Malay stream, 10 have started classes where Mathematics and Science are taught in English. The breakdown is as follows: - Science Mathematics No. Name of School No. of No. of No. of No. of Classes pupils Classes pupils 1. Kaki Bukit Secondary School 8 336 8 336 2. Maju Secondary School 6 242 6 242 3. Jalan Teck Whye Secondary School 9 326 9 326 4. Sang Nila Utama Secondary School 2 69 2 69 5. Yusof Ishak Secondary School 4 146 5 178 6. Swiss Cottage Secondary School 12 479 12 479 7. Telok Kurau Secondary School 5 197 18 697 8. Changkat Changi Secondary School 12 404 12 404 9. Tun Sen Lanang Secondary School 24 768 22 768 10. Upper Serangoon Secondary Technical School 18 703 18 703 11. Monk's Hill Secondary School - - - - 12. Buona Vista Secondary School - - - - ------------------------------------------ 100 3,670 112 4,202 ==========================================

Tuan Haji Mohd. Ariff: (In Malay): Mr Speaker, may I know when can these schools commence teaching these two subjects in English?

Inche Mohd. Ghazali: With the exception of the Upper Serangoon Secondary Technical School where Science and Mathematics are taught in English as from January 1969, arising out of a policy decision, it is not made compulsory to teach Science and Mathematics in English to the Malay-medium students in all the other 11 secondary schools. However, as early as in 1970, the principals of these schools have been encouraged to use English as the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics, as far as possible.

Tuan Haji Mohd. Ariff: (In Malay): Sir, what steps have been taken by the Ministry of Education to ensure the smooth implementation of this scheme?

Inche Mohd. Ghazali: Mr Speaker, Sir, to ensure the smooth implementation of this scheme to use English as the medium of instruction for these two subjects in the Malay secondary schools, the Ministry of Education explained the following five points to the school principals:

(1) that there is no element of compulsion;

(2) that the scheme need not be implemented immediately if it is not feasible;

(3) that if it is feasible, a feasibility study should nevertheless be carried out with a view to implementing it as early as possible;

(4) that problems pertaining to equipment, staffing, students' ability, and the parents' reaction must be carefully looked into; and

(5) that even if implementation is feasible, the scheme should be phased out gradually.