SCHOOLS taking part in the latest Dual Language Programme (DLP) must teach at least one mathematics and science class in Bahasa Melayu, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said.
She said there are no exceptions to the rule even if the parents of the schoolchilldren object.
“We have asked all (government schools) to adhere to the guidelines, and there are no issues.
“For those with issues on implementation, we will seek them out and help the school gett it done,” Fadhlina was reported as saying on Free Malaysia Today.
“All government schools must follow the guidelines,” she added.
Fadhlina was responding to educator Noor Azimah Rahim who said that elite schools such as the Malay College Kuala Kangsar and Tunku Kurshiah College were exempt from the DLP rule.
Azimah had said that the new guidelines had also excluded Sarawak, where primary schools had been allowed to teach fully in English since 2020.
Penang vernacular school representatives had urged Education Ministry to revoke the mandate that DLP schools teach at least one science and mathematics class in BM.
Representatives of 11 national and Chinese secondary schools in Penang said the directive was impractical as none of the students were interested in taking the two subjects in BM.
An April 15 letter from the Penang Education Department states that DLP schools must have a non-DLP class if they wish to participate in the programme.
Fadhlina had said in December that pupils in DLP schools did not have basic proficiency in BM. She said schools running the DLP programme had agreed to meet every criteria, including making the effort to cultivate mastery of the Malay language.
The DLP was announced in Budget 2016. It aims to raise the English proficiency and employability of students. – June 20, 2024.
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