PMR: More answered in English

PUTRAJAYA: A majority of students who sat for the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) this year answered the Science paper entirely in English.
A total of 51.2% of candidates chose English, compared with 30.8% who answered in Malay and 18% who used a combination of both languages.
Last year, only 21.5% of candidates answered the PMR Science paper wholly in English.
Education director-general Datuk Alimuddin Mohd Dom described the increasing trend of candidates using English as “very encouraging.”
“This year marks the fourth batch of students who took the PMR after studying Mathematics and Science in English since Form One,” he said.
Alimuddin said that the final decision on whether the two subjects would continue to be taught in English rests with Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
“We have already decided that the 2009 PMR will remain bilingual. Students can still opt to answer in English, Malay or use both languages,” he said at a press conference to announce the 2008 PMR results.
The subject that showed the biggest improvement in performance was English — the pass rate increased by 3.6 points from an average of 71.2% from 2003-2007 to 74.8% this year.
A total of 26,378 candidates or 5.96% scored straight As in the PMR, Last year the figure was 5.65% while in 2006 it was 4.83%. The number of candidates who failed or scored Es in all subjects also declined, from 0.13% to 0.10%.
Alimuddin said that at least 15% of candidates scored As in all the 16 subjects offered under the PMR.
“In many subjects, more than 20% of candidates scored As,” he said.
The subjects with the most number of A scorers were Punjabi (56.2%), Iban (30%) and Living Skills - Technical (30.1%).
The disparity between the performance of urban and rural students was also narrowing, said Alimuddin.
“Each year we see an improvement in the achievements of rural students, and this is in line with the national education blueprint of levelling the playing field,” he said.
An expert from Cambridge International Examinations in the United Kingdom, Kate Newcombe, sat in on the evaluation process and setting of standards of this year’s PMR.
“She remarked that the standard of our Mathematics and Science paper was higher than the United Kingdom’s,” claimed said Alimuddin.

tunku : that's prove that teaching maths and science in english is not a mistake and the students are getting used to it.the teaching of these two subjects in english should continue. we hope the government will think of the future of our young generation rather than making a popular decision but not a wise one.