English a must pass

CYBERJAYA: A new policy is on the cards to make English a compulsory subject, besides Bahasa Melayu, for students to pass at Malaysia's public universities.
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the education minister, said he had discussed the matter with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak last week ago and the details would be announced later.
"The basic knowledge is not enough for graduates if they don't have the ability to communicate and write in English.
"Companies will have a certain benchmark. They want people who are not only qualified, but people who will be able to be their ambassador, who can communicate with the rest of the world and one of the important requirements is the ability to communicate in English," he said.
Muhyiddin said this at the launch of the Second Cyberjaya Graduate Employability Enabler (CGEE 2) today.
The CGEE is a talent development programme that empowers, trains and prepares local graduates, making them employable with high impact companies especially Cyberjaya.
Earlier in Putrajaya, Muhyiddin advised educators to always find innovative approaches to encourage student participation in the learning process.
He said one option that they could explore was the massive open online courses that allowed educators and students to directly participate and interact through the web and flipped classroom.
"Integrated media (and notes) content can increase access to learning without time or space constraints, besides reducing cost and saving time.
"This can also help students master alternative ways in understanding a concept and theory as well as achieve a competent learning outcome," he said when addressing the eighth Education Ministry National Academic Awards 2013 at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here.
Muhyiddin, who is also the education minister, said if educators took the initiative to apply the innovative approaches, he was confident the country's education could be empowered to a higher level. – Bernama