PETALING JAYA: The Dual Language Programme (DLP) is being subtly reduced in what may be an attempt to remove it, stakeholders claim.
Some top national full DLP schools have been forced by their principals to introduce non-DLP classes and move students there, even though the parents don’t want it, says Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE).
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Its chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim (pic) claimed that there appears to be an attempt by unseen hands to whittle DLP down.
“We understand that fully residential schools which fall under the Education Ministry may share the same fate except for the 11 premier ones such as Malay College Kuala Kangsar and Tunku Kurshiah College,” she said in an exclusive letter to The Star.
She said the 70 Mara junior science colleges (MRSM), which fall under the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, have abolished DLP for Form One.
Noor Azimah said parents who want DLP for their children are running around “like headless chickens” with principals and school leaders preventing them from seeking external help.
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Noor Azimah added that the preamble of the Education Act 1996 explicitly says that “pupils are to be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents”.
She said increasing the number of DLP classes would make national schools the first choice for parents.
“Incidentally, Sarawak embraced the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in English (PPSMI) and full-on DLP. Sarawak is now a success story for PPSMI and DLP.
“While Sarawak is forging ahead, schools in the peninsula are still playing tug-of-war over language.
“Bahasa Malaysia is undoubtedly the national language and its sovereignty is enshrined in the Federal Constitution. Every Malaysian has a role and responsibility to uphold the importance of BM,” she said.
However, she said English is needed to produce students for high-value jobs which would come with the entry of Tesla and SpaceX into Malaysia, as well as the National Energy Transition Roadmap.
The group urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to intervene in ensuring DLP is given the full support it deserves.
“Abolish the BM requirement, which was added at the last minute to appease the language nationalists, automatically halving the number of schools that can choose DLP,” it said.
PAGE was instrumental in the formulation of DLP as PPSMI was halted in 2013.
A source from a district education office said the decision to open at least one non-DLP class in DLP schools was because some students living around a school cannot go there because they are unable to learn Science and Mathematics in English.
The source said it was to increase Bahasa Melayu contact hours so the students would not struggle with the Bahasa Melayu paper in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia exams.
Association of Science, Technology and Innovation president Dr Mohamed Yunus Mohamed Yasin said parents have the right to choose what is best for their child.
“Use the language the students are able to learn better in. If it is English, use English and if it is BM use BM,” he said.
In May, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek told Sunday Star that the ministry does have enough teachers to teach Mathematics and Science in English.
However, the problem, she said, is that schools do not fulfil the requirements for DLP to be carried out.
The programme was one of the initiatives under the Upholding the Malay Language and Strengthening the English Language (better known by its Malay abbreviation, MBMMBI) policy.
It was introduced to improve English proficiency of students through the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics subjects, as well as to increase students’ ability to compete globally and employability.
Currently, there are 1,613 primary and 753 secondary DLP schools nationwide.
DLP, said Fadhlina, was not a curriculum or a policy so the question of whether it would be expanded should not arise.
The ministry, she said, had many other initiatives such as the Highly Immersive Programme (HIP), Remedial Instruction Programme (RI) and the English Language Skills Enhancement Programme in Schools (PPKBIS) to boost language proficiency.
To date, HIP has been implemented in all 10,000 primary and secondary schools, and in Institutes of Teacher Education and all other post-secondary institutions under the ministry.
The Star has reached out to the Education Ministry for comment.
