Universities Told To Enhance Students' Competency In English

Public institutions of higher learning (IPTA) have been directed to improve the English skills of their teaching staff to enhance their competency in the language.

This follows an initial finding of a study which showed poor competency of the language among university students, Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said.

The study, he added, was conducted not only among the students, but also lecturers in all public institutions of higher learning. He said the move was in line with efforts by the government to produce quality graduates.

"In a study conducted on 120,000 IPTA students last year, 29.2 per cent of them are categorised in band 1 and band 2, which is the lowest rating for the Malaysian University English Test (MUET)," he told reporters after giving a new year speech for staff of the ministry here today. At the function, he also launched a book on the Higher Education Ministry's Code of Ethics.

Mustapa said most universities, like Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Malaya (UM), had launched their own soft-skill modules, including on mastering of the English language, to improve the quality of their students as well as to make them readily employable. He said extra classes were also held for those who were weak in the language.

As for lecturers, he said, although they were expected to be competent in English, the emphasis for competency in the language was only in certain fields. "Not every lecturer needs a high level of competency in English. It depends on their discipline, especially science, engineering and technology. Overall, it (level of competency) is okay, but we want to know more precisely the overall level of competency, and in cases where the level of competency is not up to the mark, remedial measures need to be taken to ensure the competence level is improved," he added. (Bernama)

****** The Higher Education Minister said that an initial finding of a study showed poor competency of the language among university students. I find that a very surprising statement. Where has Tok Pa been all these years when parents, genuine educationists and concerned citizens have been screaming themselves hoarse and decrying the terrible standard of spoken and written English by our students? To now advice varsities to enhance English competency because of some 'initial findings' is very little very late.

Opportunistic politicians, aided and abetted by chauvinistic educationists and civil servants have screwed up the school system and the competency of our students in not only English but other areas as well. They have all these years used the weapon of Malay rights and constitutional privileges and played up Malay fear of the colonialist's language to browbeat any opposition to their selfish plans to garner votes for themselves and their party, much to the detriment of the people especially the Malays.

If the lecturers are weak in English it is because they were the first victims of the blinkered policies of the politicians 20 to 30 years ago. Now suddenly Tok Pa's eyes have been opened by these 'initial findings' thus prompting him to urge varsities to improve their competency. But you can bet if tomorrow a couple of dozen 'nationalists,' and Malay language fanatics make a hue and cry in Berita Harian and Utusan and stage a few protests and ceramah denouncing this decision as harmful and showing disrespect to Malay and that the government is made up of pengkhianat2 who are downgrading Bahasa Melayu, our leaders will turn tail and push everything back to square one. It doesnt affect them, after all their children study in Ivy League and other prestigious varsities in the West.
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