PPSMI implementation plan not discussed in meeting - Teo

Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching explained that teaching of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) was only mentioned in Dr Mahathir Mohamad 's remarks, but no implementation plan was discussed during the meeting on Thursday.

Teo (above) said this in response to the acting education minister’s uploaded video on his official Youtube account, advocating about the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English.

“That (PPSMI) was not in our agenda of the meeting yesterday (Jan 30), and we did not discuss any details such as the timeline of the implementation," said Teo in a video clip published by Sin Chew Daily yesterday.

"That was just his (Mahathir's) opening remarks during the meeting, which means there is no final decision yet. Even if he has said so, the ministry needs to do further research on the matter," she added.

Teo responded when approached by several Chinese media personnel when she attended a Chinese New Year celebration event in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

She also explained that Mahathir was just expressing his own vision and ideas about education, and he viewed enhancing English skills as essential for employment and communications.

“I think we did not discuss a complete re-introduction of PPSMI. It can also be a strengthened version of the Dual Language Programme (DLP),” said Teo, citing DLP in Sarawak as a model.

Starting from this year, 1,048 primary schools in Sarawak implemented the DLP, which gave the opportunity to students to master English through Mathematics and Science subjects from Year One.