BM will serve science students well

I REFER to "Learning science and maths – why English matters" (Letters, May 22).
I understand the writer's apprehension over the continuing debate on the drawbacks of PPSMI by its detractors and the prospect of reintroducing PPSMI after its leading proponent, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is prime minister again.
I agree with the writer that the success stories of Japan and China in teaching and learning science and maths in their own mother tongues had been cited so often by detractors of PPSMI that it has become a cliche. But it is not the only reason why Malaysia should ditch PPSMI and teach science in the national language.
A more important reason for ditching PPSMI is the failure of PPSMI to improve science and maths achievements of Malaysian students.
The failure of PPSMI can be tracked in two international rankings, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for 8th grade students and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for 15-year-old students.
The Malaysian TIMSS results from 1999 (before PPSMI was introduced) to 2015 (after the introduction of PPSMI) declined drastically compared to other countries, who except for Singapore and Hong Kong, used their mother tongues or national languages to teach both subjects.
Malaysian students' science rankings rose slightly from 22nd place in 1999 (492) to 20th place above the international average in 2003 (510), but then declined steadily in terms of rank and score below the international average to 21st in 2007 (471) and 32nd in 2011 (426) but recovered slightly to 24th place in 2015 (471).
A similar trend was seen in Malaysian students' maths achievement, which rose dramatically from 16th place in 1999 (519) to 9th place above the international average in 2003 (508), but then declined steadily in rank and score below the international average to 20th in 2007 (474) and 27th in 2011 (440) but recovered slightly to 22nd place in 2015 (465).
Although Malaysian students' science ranking in PISA rose from 53rd place in 2012 (421) to 48th in 2015 (443) and in maths rose from 52nd in 2012 (420) to 46th place in 2015 (446), it is still below the international average and again well below countries that use their mother tongue.
It is significant to note that Malaysia's score and rank are consistently well below countries, who except for Singapore and Hong Kong, use their mother tongues or national languages to teach science and maths.
For example, Vietnam (whose education system was ravaged by war) that uses its national language to teach both subjects, has consistently scored higher than Malaysia. Its scores for science are 528 at 8th place in 2012 and 525 at the same rank in 2015, and for maths 511 at 17th place in 2012 and 495 at 22nd place in 2015.
The positive testimonies by a few successful PPSMI graduates like the writer are anecdotal at best and cannot be used as evidence to decide on PPSMI that involves the whole student population and the future of the country that depends on them.
Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for that matter should base their decision on whether to reintroduce PPSMI or to continue with the DLP (Dual Language Programme) on hard data that is scientifically validated by both TIMSS and PISA and not on weak anecdotal evidence of a few successful PPSMI graduates or the whim and fancies of some parents.
I strongly recommend Maszlee and Tun Mahathir scrap the DLP, not to reintroduce the failed PPSMI and reintroduce teaching and learning of mathematics and science fully in Bahasa Melayu for the sake of the future scientific development of the country.
Datuk Ir Dr Wan Ramli Wan Daud
Professor of Chemical Engineering and Principal Fellow of Fuel Cell Institute
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia