MELAKA: Education activists have called upon the Education Ministry to rescind the implementation of the Dual Language Programme (DLP) policy and allow them to explain the importance of learning Science and Mathematics in English.
Parent Action Group for Education (Page) chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul said the condition set by the ministry goes against parents' wishes and is seen as an autocratic move that impacts the students' future.
“We have tried hard to meet the Education Minister, Fadhlina Sidek, to explain the issues surrounding the DLP, but our attempts have been futile.
“Our last resort is to hold a mass protest if the students’ are not allowed to choose the language they are most comfortable with to excel in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subject,” she said at a press conference together with Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie) chairman Mak Chee Kin here on Saturday (Dec 23).
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Noor Azimah said parents agreed that the high proficiency of Bahasa Melayu should be upheld but not at the expense of the importance of English in STEM.
“Furthermore, we can witness a one-sided and undemocratic approach in the management of DLP implementation that is not according to the ministry's guidelines,” she said.
Noor Azimah noted that there are 206,710 pupils, or 7.5% of primary level students, who are in DLP classes, while for the secondary level, the figure stood at 255,316 or 12.17% throughout the country.
“The figure shows that the number of DLP needs to be expanded,” she said.
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Noor Azimah said the "stricter" DLP conditions that required a minimum of one full class per school to learn the subjects in Bahasa Melayu as a prerequisite for DLP classes are also unfair. She said some schools would conduct a Bahasa Melayu proficiency test during the enrolment of Primary One, and the result would be used to determine the student's medium of learning for both subjects until they complete their secondary level.
Noor Azimah said those with poor proficiency in Bahasa Melayu will be compelled to learn subjects in the language, which is considered an unproductive move.
She said the focus instead should be on improving the Bahasa Melayu proficiency of schools that do not meet the national average for Bahasa Melayu, which is denying them the opportunity to apply to become a DLP school.
