Paternalism is bad for the country

By Wan Saiful Wan Jan. I was in Johor Bahru last Thursday, to speak at the “Great Debate” held at UTM Skudai.  The topic was “Does an English medium education increase competitiveness or dilute identity?” 
The debate touched on the government’s decision to pilot the Dual Language Programme (DLP) in schools.  Under the DLP scheme, schools are allowed to teach selected subject in English if they fulfil certain criteria.  The aim is to increase the amount of time a student uses English so that there can be greater immersion into the language. More...