Call for SPA Interview

Those who has applied for SPA, you may now check whether you are being called to come for SPA exam and interview. Kuching has started the interview. And in case you are not sure of it, you might check it on SPA website and look for your name. Some might receives letter from them, some maybe not, especially those who is in the rural areas as the letter might comes late. So, check it out yourself. ;)

UITM, DECEMBER INTAKE

To those whom are still interested with UITM... Applications for December intake are now open... until the 16th September 2009...

All you need to do is, buy your pin number from BSN... and fill up the form through online... and do it as usual...

This intake is open for all "bumiputera"... click here for details... :P

Experts in English

BUKIT MERTAJAM: The Educa- tion Ministry will ensure that the new curriculum for English language to be implemented by 2012 is based on the recommendations of experts and top linguists.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he had issued a directive for the new curriculum to include feedback and viewpoints of experts, including linguists.

“These are steps taken to allay the fear of parents over the erosion of English language in the country,” he said after presenting aid to poor students at SMK Permatang Pasir here yesterday.

He also opened the district education building and National Day celebrations at the same place.

Muhyiddin, who is Education Minister, said parents need not worry that the teaching of Science and Mathematics in Bahasa Malaysia would erode their children’s capacity to master English.

“Various new initiatives are being taken to improve the command of the language, including extending the teaching hours and ensuring that an additional 13,000 teachers become top-notch linguists.

“We will also incorporate more English literature and components of Science and Mathematics,” he said.

Muhyiddin said the Federal Government wanted the country’s education system to be on par or better than those of developed nations.

“The role of parents is also crucial as they must motivate their children to master the language as they will be competing in a world which is increasingly becoming more challenging,” he added.

Source: The Star Online

Selamat menyambut Ramadhan Al-Mubarak

I would love to wish everyone, and all Muslim friends, Happy fasting!!! Mudah-mudahan, Ramdhan kali ini kita diberkati... Semoga, Ramadhan Tahun in penuh dengan Ibadah yg DIA berkati... :)

Students stay away after teacher dies

Subang Jaya: Attendance was low at SMK USJ12 yesterday judging by the number of vehicles dropping off students outside the school before the morning session.

Despite the school conducting an extra-curricular assessment exercise, many students chose to skip school after a teacher died on Wednesday morning from severe pneumonia and multiple organs failure.

Rumours were abound that Chai Mee Feng had passed away due to complications from the Influenza A(H1N1) virus, although parents reported that school authorities had denied this.

Although the school allowed morning session students to call their parents to pick them up from school on Wednesday morning, a notice was later put up at the school gate stating that the school would operate as usual for the Wednesday afternoon session as well as yesterday and today.

For some parents, it was school as usual for their children as assessments and preparation for the PMR and SPM exams are on-going.

“A teacher told me it was confirmed that her colleague didn’t die from the A(H1N1) virus, and I didn’t want my daughter to skip school as she is taking the PMR this year,” said one mother after dropping her daughter off at the school.

One father kept his daughter at home as she is having a sore throat, but came to find out the situation at the school.

“The school is suppose to be having the extra-curricular assessment today, so I was wondering if it is still on as it would affect my daughter’s marks,” he said.

Efforts to contact the school authorities were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, SK USJ 20 was asked to close by the Health Ministry on Wednesday afternoon until Aug 25 when two positive cases were reported there.

As the school holidays begin next week, this means that pupils of the school will only resume their studies on Sept 1.

Source: The Star Online

MCA proposes on Maths and Science

Taken from The Star Online.... :)

KUALA LUMPUR: MCA will be making several proposals to the Cabinet meeting today on the usage of English in the teaching of Maths and Science.

The proposals are to enhance the teaching of English subjects in vernacular primary schools, use English and Bahasa Malaysia to teach the two subjects from Form One to Form Three and maintain English as the medium of instruction for Form Four and Form Five.

MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said: “MCA is of the view that English should be maintained as the medium of instruction for Form Four and Form Five due to the streaming of students into science and arts streams.

“On top of that, if we are to have a transition from Bahasa Malaysia to English at pre-university level and matriculation, it would be too late.

“Perhaps one of the ways out is to have bilingual teaching for the subjects in lower secondary schools.

“We are mindful of the continuity of studies,’’ he said during a press conference after chairing the weekly pre-Cabinet meeting at Wisma MCA yesterday.

MCA ministers and deputy ministers were present at the meeting.

“We notice that the time allotted to English Language class in vernacular schools — 120 minutes per week — is far less than in national-type schools which have 330 minutes per week.

“We propose to increase the time allotment for English to at least 180 minutes. The time could be taken from periods previously used to teach maths and science in English,’’ he said.

Currently, Chinese primary schools teach Maths and Science in Mandarin and English.

“With the revision, we propose to have the time dedicated to Science and Maths in English be used instead to teach English.’’

Ong said the increase in the time for English should not be done at the expense of the time allocated for the teaching of Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia.

He said the party is in the midst of having dialogues with educationist groups and others to gather feedback on the matter.

Ong said the party extends its appreciation to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for his willingness to accommodate more views from the community.

English will be replaced back to Malay language

I find this stupid la.... after all the English lesson, and now they change it back to Malay Language.... I disagree on this... Taken from The Star Online.... :)

PUTRAJAYA: The Government has decided to reverse the Teaching of Mathematics and Science in English policy and revert to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools and Chinese and Tamil in vernacular schools.

More emphasis would also be placed on English, including the hiring of retired teachers, assistant teachers for bigger classes and having additional periods.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said this meant that from 2012, students in Years One and Four and Forms One and Four in national primary and secondary schools would study the two subjects in Bahasa Malaysia while those in vernacular schools would be taught in their mother tongue (Chinese and Tamil).

It’s decided: Muhyiddin after the press conference at the Education Ministry’s building in Putrajaya Wednesday.

“We want to have a ‘soft landing’ which is why we will begin only in 2012. This will allow us time to make the necessary preparations,” he told a press conference at the ministry when announcing the reversal of the ETeMS policy or better known by its Malay acronym, PPSMI.

Asked why the ministry was not starting with a new cohort of Year One students, Muhyiddin who is Education Minister, said there was time to fine-tune the policy.

“There is still two-and-a-half years to prepare.

“Some members of the Cabinet made an observation that those in Form Four may be affected but that’s okay because we can still make changes so they continue their studies in two languages,” he said.

Muhyiddin said the ministry would do “whatever we can to make it as soft as possible for these students.”

“This is why the ministry is staggering the changes that will happen.

“It was quite sudden when the PPSMI was introduced previously,” he said.

The PPSMI policy was implemented in phases, beginning with Year One, Form One and Lower Six students in 2003, under former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s tenure.

The first cohort who completed six years of primary schooling and studied the two subjects in English received their Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) results last year.

Muhyiddin said that to ensure the implementation of the new policy did not affect the first batch (who started studying the two subjects in English in primary school in 2003), they would continue to study Mathematics and Science bilingually (in English and Bahasa Malaysia) until 2014.

He stressed that the reason for the reversal in policy was due to objective considerations and not political ones.

“It was based on empirical studies and other specialist reviews,” he said.

Based on studies conducted in 2008, he said, the ministry found that only a small percentage of teachers fully used English to teach the two subjects.

“On average, the percentage of those using English during Mathematics and Science periods was around 53% to 58%,” he said, adding that only a small number of teachers were proficient.

Muhyiddin said studies carried out by local universities found that students’ mastery level of English during the entire policy was around 3% while the level among rural students was low.

“Based on these observations, the Government is confident that Mathematics and Science should be taught in languages understood by students, which is Bahasa Malaysia in national schools, and Chinese and Tamil in the respective vernacular schools,” he said.

On whether the decision goes against Dr Mahathir’s vision, Muhyiddin said he and senior ministry officials had a three-hour meeting explaining the problems faced by those involved.