More than 30% teachers in the country who teach Science and Mathematics in schools have been found to have lack of good English command.

It is a set back that will derail the country’s plan to produce excellent students who are also equipped with strong English skills.

So, instead of producing best of the breed students, the reverse is happening as students are unable to cope with the content of the curriculum, as well as blending their skills with the essential English.

The situation was revealed by the Deputy Minister of Education, Datuk Razali Ismail, citing cases of teachers found out to have poor proficiency in the English language and were unable to convey their teaching in effective manner.

The teaching of Science and Mathematics in English was introduced way back in 2003, sparking controversies due to concern on the program execution. The policy was implemented in phases, starting with the Year One students, Form One and Lower Six Students.

With the new policy, rural students were found out to be the biggest losers, as they suffer from the non-existence of English exposure, as well as weak understanding on Science and Mathematics subjects. Many groups are now urging the government to revert back the teaching of the said subjects using the original mother tongue.

France reign’s to having one of the shortest work hour weeks in the world has come to an end after a new ruling was passed by the French senate that allows companies to introduce longer working hours.

However, before the new working hours is implemented, the employers and employees will need to negotiate and come to an agreement.

France instituted a 35-hour work week policy in 1998, cutting it off from 39-40 hours, instantly making the country to have the shortest work week in the Europe, until today. With shorter working hours, employers would have to hire more workers to maintain or increase their business productivity.

Between 1998 and 2002, thanks to this new policy, more than 300,000 thousand jobs were created, reducing the high employment rate. The country has always been an envy of many others, with some of them satirically labeling them as the “lazy French”.

However, the trend of job creation stopped after on, and the government of France, under the premiership of Nicolas Sarkozy, came to realization that the policy now had not been producing the number of jobs it was supposed to do. On top of that, other developed nations, including United Kingdom and United States, show the trend of an increase in terms of hours worked by the employees.

Franchise is a robust business model that allows a business operation achieving tremendous success. While sometimes, or most of the times becoming a franchisee will cost a lot of money, there are other benefits that can outweigh the disadvantages.

Here are 5 advantages of a franchise:

1. High success rate

Statistically, franchise has a high success rate of more than 90%. That’s a really impressive percentage, considering the rate of a business success is merely 1 to 5, or worse.

A business can only be franchised after recording successive years of operation. In other words, a franchise is a business model which is based on proven ideas and implementation. And with high success rate, come a reduced calculated risk.

2. Recognized brand and trademark

Brands such as KFC, McDonald’s, 7-Eleven, Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks and so on have become household names in many countries worldwide. Hence, you can leverage the powerful brand names for your marketing strategy. You can now focus your time and effort to get the daily running of the business operation.

3. You’re not alone

Entrepreneurship can be a lonely road, but not with a franchise business. Your franchisor will never allow you to be on your own, toiling with all the paperwork, training and operation. More often than not, a good franchise offers very powerful and superior training and coaching system. All is done with the intention to make your business a success. Because when you do, they also reap the profits.

4. Easier financing

Relatively, it will be easier to get financial help for business which has proven to be a success in the past and present. It is only natural for the banks or financial institutions to be reluctant to approve your business loan unless they know the odd of success is high. Your franchisor will also give you great help in developing a sparkling business plan for loan application.

5. Immense profit

Once running full fledge, it won’t take long before your franchise business reaches the break even point, and from thereon, it’s profit. With the right marketing strategy, brand positioning, and growth of the customer base, your days can only be cheerfully better.