Mother tongue for maths and science

Mother tongue for maths and science

Let us have a factual discussion on this topic.

Fact 1: Our Creator created races and languages. The Quran says: "O mankind! We created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another." (Quran 49:13)

When Islamic civilisation was at its peak, Europe was in the Dark Ages. Europeans came into contact with Islamic civilisation when Islam spread to Europe.

European scholars learn science and mathematics in Andalusia (Spain) in Arabic. Some ventured to Arab countries to study. On returning to Europe, these scholars translated knowledge, and books, acquired into mother tongue. The European public was then taught this new knowledge in their mother tongue. The books were used as reference for many years.

When the Muslims abandoned love for learning, which is Allah's first command to them, the Europeans surpassed them in many fields.

Fact 2: Following are quotes from an article "The mother-tongue dilemma: UNESCO Education" available on the Internet:

i. Studies show that we learn better in our mother tongue.
ii. Teachers have known for years the value of teaching children in their mother tongue.
iii. Many studies have shown children do better if they get a basic education in their own language.
iv. In New Zealand, a recent study showed that Maori children who received basic edsucation in their own language performed better than those educated in English only.
v. In the United States, a research unit at George Mason University in Virginia has monitored results at twenty three primary schools in fifteen States since 1985. Four out of six different curricula involved were partly conducted in the mother tongue. The surveys shows that, after ELEVEN YEARS OF SCHOOLING, there is a direct link between acaedemic results and the time spent learning in the mother tongue.

Fact 3: Let us see how Nabi Muhammad saw and the khalifahs applied Islam when implementing educational policy in a multireligious and multi-racial nation-state Madinah:

"The JEWS of Madinah had set up their own religious
and EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION called Bait al-Midras
during the time of the Prohet saw.

"The JEWISH and CHRISTIAN educational instituions were left to their
communitities to MANAGE THEIR AFFAIRS during the
Ummayad and the Abbasid Caliphates.

"Muslims,Christians, Jews and Magians had conserved their own
modes of dress and social customs. An effort was made
in this way to protect the culture of every religious
community living in a Muslim state.
( Abdur Rahman I.Doi: Non-Muslims Under Shariah m.52)

So, the Malay, Chinese and Tamil educators are correct in demanding mother tongue education for children up to Form 5 and beyond, and not up to only Std 6. This demand is not emotional or racist. It is a show of appreciation to Our Creator who created mother tongue which has been proven scientifically to be the best means of imparting education to our children.

The change in the medium of instruction in Malaysian schools from mother tongue to English for science and mathematics, was made by Dr Mahathir alone. What Mahathir wanted, he got. History has shown and is showing that most decisions made by Mahathir alone have been disastrous to the nation.

Abu Abdillah