Discussions to revive PPSMI still at initial stage, says DPM

The cabinet has yet to make a final decision on reported plans by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad for schools to reintroduce the teaching of Maths and Science in English.

Malay-daily Berita Harian quoted Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as saying that discussions to reinstate the policy is currently still in initial stages.

"Actually, the discussion is (still at a) preliminary (stage), not finalised yet," Wan Azizah said in brief, reportedly after attending a Chinese New Year celebration at the Hokkien Association Hall in Klang today.

Mahathir had on Friday reportedly revisited his idea for the teaching of Science and Maths in English - first introduced in 2003 as the Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English (PPSMI) programme during his previous tenure in office.

Mahathir, who is now acting education minister, reportedly made the remarks during a special meeting with the ministry on Thursday

A video of Mahathir's remarks at the meeting was uploaded on his official Youtube account on Friday.

However, it does not mention how or when the new teaching policy would be implemented.

The mandatory PPSMI policy was at the time met with mixed reactions, but it was carried out for nearly 10 years before being scrapped in 2011 and replaced with the optional "Uphold Bahasa Malaysia and to Strengthen the English language" (MBMMBI) policy.