YOURSAY 'It's time the gov't learnt that paying whatever money can buy certainly doesn't mean you get the best.'

RM270mil spent, but 'Oh My English' prevails

Onyourtoes: Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari, please listen, even Ah Beng English teachers in vernacular schools are better than those English teachers in national schools.

Why are we such a hypocrite nation? Be bold, just go and test those English teachers in national schools. Ask them to write 10 sentences on any topic and see the outcome.

Zairil, in Malaysia today, it is the blind leading the blind. It is not the methodology used; it is not whether mentoring was available or otherwise; and it is not whether there were enough classrooms or ceiling fans.

Get real, the incompetency and mediocrity are everywhere, including those in secondary schools and universities. It is the blind leading the blind, don't forget that.

Zairil, at one time our waitresses and taxi drivers were able to speak better English than our graduates today. Today, English in this country is just like Greek to many of us.

There is no hope also; bureaucrats and ministers who know little English have no incentive to do anything about it. We need to wait till someday you become education minister.

Abasir: First, let everyone recognise the real legacy of Dr Mahathir Mohamad - a nation of 'A' scoring, linguistically challenged semi-literates who keep entering the job market to subvert enterprises with their incompetence and fattening the purses of 'consultants'.

Blowing RM270 million is no big deal to PM Najib Abdul Razak, whose travels alone have exceeded RM44 million and counting.

As for English, forget about it. The combined vitriol of the National Civics Bureau (BTN) and the Islamic Development Department Malaysia (Jakim) have succeeded in demonising the language forever.

It is a tool to subvert Islam and Malays... who have been repeatedly told that their brains cannot operate efficiently in two languages. It's either English or Malay just as it is either Umno or destruction of the race. Choose one. (This is the other Malay dilemma perpetuated by Umno and former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad).

The collateral damage from this self-serving policy comes in the form of incoherence all across government - garbled policies, nebulous court judgments, diplomats and ministers who cannot string a sentence together.

Headhunter: It's time the BN government learnt that paying whatever money can buy certainly doesn't mean you get the best. There are a lot of conmen out there disguised as "consultants" or shall we say CONsultants.

The government has to change the "BN know best" attitude which normally translates into their ‘ketuanan' and racist nonsense, must be more inclusive by getting frontline personnel like teachers and educators into the process of improving our education system.

But knowing the current education minister's racial inclination, one should not expect things to change for the better any time soon. Like our Sports Ministry, there are too many hangers-on and vultures out there trying to turn everything into politics and lining their pockets at the same time.

Paul Warren: As long as the powers-that-be are in denial about what their responsibility is towards educating the young, we remain screwed.

If we were living 1,000 years ago, the educational needs would be about identifying and knowing the environment around us - hunting, defending and procreating. Today, what is needed is equipping us with the knowledge and skills to contribute towards the economic, cultural and social environment ahead of us.

Unfortunately that is not the objective of the Education Ministry. It is about loyalty to the country and to the government. So our kids are fed with absolute nonsense in schools which even parents don't seem to care about.

Armageddon: Paying RM270 million to consultants to raise the English standards was a waste because results show it has failed. To learn a language is to talk, read and write that language every day or every moment.

If the government is serious in wanting Malaysians to be well-versed with the English language, close all vernacular schools including Kebangsaan schools, and bring back the era of the 60s or the 70s, whereby everything was taught in English.

With that our ministers also can save their money from sending their children overseas.

Anonymous_3faa: We have KBSM English, Communication English and whatnot. Still no improvement.

Unless we go back to basics, English grammar, diction, writing, reading, spelling, poetry rhymes, singing, literature, drama, etc. But then, we have no genuine English teachers like those of old. Still we have to start somewhere.

Oriole: A lot has already been said about the teaching of language, but little exists in addressing these problems. Schools need to challenge pupils further by ensuring a reading regime that starts in primary schools. This is particularly important for those in small towns and rural areas.

Secondly, the focus on producing results has seen worrying trends of passing all and sundry. This is no better in private education.

In some of the "premier" private tertiary institutions, dubious means are employed to ensure higher passes in various subjects. Education is a market, exploited by cynical vultures.

AnakJohor1920: Let's face the truth here. Just what is the actual passing mark used for the UPSR English language now? Five marks or 10 marks? What is so secretive about the passing marks unless it has been lowered beyond human recognition and embarrassment.

Are you so sure that 9.15 percent of the pupils scored straight As? I believe strongly it is likely to be less than 5 percent. The actual threshold to obtain an A has been lowered far too low, until the grade A obtained here is no longer anything to be proud of any more.

DarthVader: What's the whole point of spending millions of ringgit, when fresh graduate are unable to converse in English during their job interview.

Actually, there are a lot of jobs on offer in the industry. Just don't say fresh graduate are not given the "golden" opportunity. My brother, who just graduated recently, didn't have to wait so long to find a job. Yes, English is still an important language in the working sector.

F1: If Malaysia wants to improve its English, it should just hire the Indian taxi drivers. I have encountered a few of these taxi drivers in Kuala Lumpur who spoke flawless English.

They probably cost less than RM270 million. Somehow these taxi drivers were knowledgeable, too.

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