JOHOR BARU: After spending the past six years in primary school learning Science and Mathematics in English, Navin (not his real name) is forced to now learn the subjects in Bahasa Melayu due to the lack of secondary schools offering Dual Language Programme (DLP) in Johor.
“My parents were able to register me in a secondary school offering the programme and I was very excited when I found out. I was later informed that I had to sit for an exam as there is only one DLP class in the school.
“It came as a shock to me as I thought that I would automatically be in a DLP class as I have been in the programme since I was seven years old. Regardless, I worked very hard for the exam and took it very seriously. Unfortunately, I later found out that I was not selected.
“I am very sad, especially when I see my friends are able to be in the class. What made me more upset was knowing that many of the students in the DLP class were not from primary schools with the programme,” the 13-year-old said.Navin said that he is now struggling to cope with learning Science and Mathematics in Bahasa Melayu as he was used to using jargon and terminologies for the subjects in English for the past six years.
“I have been learning Science and Mathematics in English since Year One. Now, I have to relearn everything in Bahasa Melayu. Even the text books I have are in Bahasa Melayu and I have to look up many unfamiliar technical words just to understand my lessons,” he said.
Another Form One student, Dewi (not her real name) said she could not hold back her tears when she found out that she would not be in the DLP class.
“My parents and I did not know that we had to compete just to get a spot in a DLP class. We only found out about this when I was registering for secondary school.
“I was told that I had to sit for an exam on March 12 and for about a week, I waited for the results, hoping for the best. I was devastated and could not hold my tears when I was told I had to be in a normal class,” she said.
A parent who only wanted to be known as Kumari, 40, said she was shocked to find out that the secondary school her son was assigned to does not offer the programme.
“When I registered my son for the programme in Year One, I was informed that he would be learning Science and Mathematics subjects in English until he is in Form Five. I was under the impression that he would automatically be in DLP classes once he is in secondary school.
“For now, my son is able to cope with the change in language but he has shared with me about his other classmates who are struggling.
“I hope that the Education Ministry could address this problem as soon as possible as it has been over two weeks since schools reopened.
“English is very important for our children’s future, especially as most of the courses in universities are in the language,” she said, adding that she hoped the ministry would find a solution instead of putting an end to the programme.
The Star reported on March 26 that hundreds of students from five Tamil schools in Johor were in limbo after they were told that the DLP would only be available in one class for each school starting this year.
Some parents from SJK(T) Jalan Yahya Awal in Johor staged a demonstration in protest of the DLP classes being reduced at the school.
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