There has been much discussion in this newspaper about mother-tongue teaching.
It has been argued that the unpopularity of mother-tongue teaching stems mainly from bad presentation. Maybe the proponents of mother-tongue teaching could take a look at Malaysia. English was the medium of instruction until 1971, when it was changed to Bahasa Malaysia. The Malaysian Government assured parents the switch would not affect their children's proficiency in English. However, today young Malaysians are usually unable to speak English, unlike the fluent older generation.
For those who cannot go to school overseas and learn English, it has become so difficult to find work that the government had to revise its policy last year and is allowing more English in classrooms again. Will a similar thing happen in Hong Kong 20 years hence? Maybe the Education Department should ensure that English-medium teachers speak good English and use it in the classroom. No pupil can learn a language if his teacher does not use it. Employing teachers at an English school who are not fluent in the language is a sign of incompetence.
If the Education Department is incapable of maintaining a sufficiently high standard among teachers then it is time to fire the entire management and seek outside help.
JOHN SMITH Shamshuipo