KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 ― Students at 13 Malacca schools will once more have the option to learn maths and science in English under the Dual-Language Programme (DLP) introduced this year.
The option was approved by the state Education Department following an appeal from a parents education advocacy group, The Star reported today.
Malacca Action Group for Parents in Education chairman Mak Chee Kin told the newspaper in an interview yesterday that Malacca was the only state to allow all 13 schools that had pleaded for English as the medium of instruction in the two subjects under the DLP in June.
He thanked the state Education director Abu Bakar Sahari for the reinstatement, adding that the move “is in line with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron’s vision to make English the second language for the state government administration”.
“Many of us realise that our children could be left behind in the rapid pace of globalisation if they do not have a good command of English,” Mak was quoted saying.
The DLP is a federal initiative to reverse the decline of English proficiency at national schools while upholding Bahasa Malaysia.
The implementation of the DLP since January has seen 296 schools in the country allowing students in Standard 1 and 4 as well as Form 1, to choose between learning science and maths subjects in either Malay or English. The programme is expected to be extended to another 840 schools nationwide next year.
However, echoing the implementation of the previous Teaching Maths and Science in English education policy, the DLP is encountering both rejection and praise from education groups.
Several Malay and Chinese language language activists have rallied against it in defence of the national and ethnic languages, while English language advocacy groups have hailed the DLP as a programme of choice.
