Debate on teaching in English deadlocked

A national debate on whether to scrap the use of English to teach math and science has reached a deadlock, an official said yesterday, deepening a political headache for the government as it strives to make Malaysian students internationally competitive.

Protracted discussions among the government, teachers, parents and political activists ended last week with no clear solution, said Deputy Education Minister Wee Ka Siong.

English was once the medium of instruction in most schools in Malaysia, a former British colony. Nationalist leaders reversed the policy and made Malay - the national language - the main medium of instruction less than two decades after independence in 1957.