Mother Tongue, A 'Second Class' Subject?

Singaporeans Split On Mother Tongue Weighting

With regards to the issue posted above, decreasing the weightage of Mother Tongue language in the Primary School Leaving Examination(PSLE) hits close to home for many. Singapore is a multiracial country known for its diversity in races and languages. We pride ourselves in being able to live in tolerance regardless of race, language or religion. Decreasing the weightage of Mother Tongue has lead to some citizens asking ‘has Mother Tongue become a second class subject'?

It is true to a certain extend that decreasing the weightage of Mother Tongue in the PSLE means that students will be able to concentrate more on the other given subjects such as English, Mathematics and Science. This also means that students are expected to perform better in the 3 other subjects.

There are however disadvantages of decreasing the weightage. Students that has a flair for their Mother Tongue subject would not be entitled to equal chance of getting into the top Secondary Schools. With the weightage lowered, students might not deem Mother Tongue as important as the other subjects. There is also the possibility of cutting short Mother Tongue lessons to cater to the other subjects which is of higher weightage, which in turn might affect the demands of Mother Tongue teachers.

In conclusion, decreasing the weightage of the Mother Tongue subject might cause more harm than good.