KUALA LUMPUR: Famed thespian William Shakespeare once said: To be or not to be.” That is the question.

The Bard’s quote thus, comes to mind, in reference to whether the English language should be made a compulsory subject to pass the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) Certificate.

Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin threw this question to the public to discuss, and for the government to obtain feedback.

He said he was informed that many rural students would fail the SPM if English was made a compulsory subject to pass.

“Then, I do not think it (not making English a compulsory subject to pass) serves any purpose because English is a very important language that we use in daily life,” he said when officiating at the setting up of the new Kirby College Alumni Association here yesterday.

He said, to improve the quality of English language proficiency among students, qualified teachers must be involved in teaching English.

“Maybe, it is a good idea to revisit the Kirby College concept, sending teachers to learn English in an English-speaking environment,” noted Muhyiddin.

Meanwhile, Muhyiddin paid a glowing tribute to Kirby College-trained teachers in the 1950s and 1960s, as they brought changes to the education system despite the country not being fully developed and the schools lacking the necessary facilities.

He said, Kirby College was multi-racial and multi-religious, likening it to a ‘miniature Malaysia’ where, at the time, the ‘1Malaya’ and ‘Malaya Boleh’ concepts were imbibed into society.

Kirby-trained teachers became a yardstick of excellence in the profession and this was proven when four eminent teachers (tokoh guru) between 1988 and 1998 were from the college.

They were Harith Laiki, Idris Tain, Lau Hut Yee and Dr Yahya Ibrahim.

— Bernama