Upbeat mood: Sagah (centre), flanked by his deputy ministers Datuk Francis Harden (left) and Dr Annuar Rapaee, at the state assembly in Kuching. — ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE/The Star
KUCHING: Sarawak will be able to assess the impact of the dual language programme (DLP) once the first batch of students reaches Form Four, says a state minister.
Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister Datuk Roland Sagah said this was because the students would be streamed into Science and Arts classes in Form Four.
“Now, we are only up to Year Four because we started the DLP training for teachers in 2019 and they started teaching Year One pupils the following year.
“So it’s too early to tell but we hope for the best,” he told reporters after delivering his winding-up speech at the state assembly yesterday.
In his speech earlier, Sagah said Science and Mathematics were taught in English at all 1,265 primary schools in Sarawak under the DLP.
He said Science and Mathematics teachers as well as non-option teachers were selected for training to teach the DLP based on their competencies in English.
“Pertaining to the non-option teachers, they are selected based on their background in Science and Mathematics.
“The state Education Department deems that they are qualified to teach both subjects despite not specialising in them,” he said.
Sagah said in some isolated cases, especially in low enrolment schools, a small number of non-option teachers without Science and Mathematics background were selected to teach the DLP.
“We do not want students at these schools to be left out. In this case, we must congratulate the teachers for accepting the challenge,” he added.
Sagah also said that the teachers were monitored and assessed by the department through a special task force.
To date, he said, the task force had made 1,101 assessment visits to schools involving 3,111 out of 5,200 teachers trained for the programme.
“As the programme progresses to Year Six, more teachers will be involved,” he said.
He added that the Sarawak DLP was an initiative fully funded by the state government with RM15mil spent on the training programme so far.
