Pass in English a must

There is a big debate raging at the moment about the teaching of Maths and Science in English and to make a pass in English compulsory to obtain the SPM certificate. This has been going on for a while now and I'm not sure why it is taking so long to decide. I for one am all for English to be used and can see no valid reason for it not to.

In today's newspaper, it is reported that an Ulama group have submitted a memorandum to abolish teaching of Maths and Science in English as it threatens the position of the "National" language. It also says that by making English a must pass subject for the SPM certificate would only discriminate students in rural areas, who were generally weak in the language.

Wouldn't making English a core subject by itself and teaching other subjects in English address this problem of students being weak in the language by forcing them to improve their command of it? Wouldn't having lower standards of English then discriminate against urban students who are not given the best possible education to have a chance to go to the top universities, join top international firms and climb up the corporate ladder?

How can the national language be threatened by teaching 2 subjects in English? There are so many other subjects that would still be taught in the national language. Learning Maths and Science in English is an advantage as most textbooks, research and theses are in English. For Malaysia to produce the best engineers, doctors, researchers, scientists etc, wouldn't it be an advantage to learn these subjects in English from young instead of having to re-memorize the whole periodic table again in English in the 1st year of uni as an example?

In all the job interviews that I have been to, all of them were conducted in English. English proficiency is one of the factors than employers look for when hiring someone. Those who hold top management positions are also usually fluent in English unless you are related to the boss or one of the cronies. In my job and dealing with others, everything is done in English. Therefore, to not discriminate against students who are poor in English is in essence a preparation for them to be discriminated against when they join the corporate world. By not making English a compulsory pass subject, this would ensure that the rural students who were generally weak in English remain so and thereby limiting their job prospects. To lift the living standards of rural people, would it not be in the best interests to give them the same chance of having a better job?

I do however agree that not all the teachers who are teaching English are up to standard. Some are rather poor to be honest. But this leads us to a chicken and egg situation, if English is not a must pass subject for students because the teachers are not up to standard, then our next generation of teachers will still not be proficient in the language and therefore future students will still be poor in English.

In our efforts to attain developed status, we should be looking forward to the future so that our students get the best education there is and to be proficient in a language that has become THE International language. We should be looking for progress instead of being stuck in mediocrity because we were afraid to discriminate against some rural kids.