PUTRAJAYA, Dec 21 — The Education Ministry is committed to continuing to uphold the Malay language and strengthen the English language, said its minister Fadhlina Sidek.
She said the Dual Language Programme (DLP) is part of the Upholding the Malay Language and Strengthening the Command of English Language (MBMMBI) policy.
Field visits have indicated there are students in schools which implemented the DLP who do not have basic proficiency in Malay and their mother tongues.
“Therefore, schools that agree to implement DLP must ensure that all criteria are met, including mastering the Malay language. At the same time, proficiency of the mother languages must be preserved as the core of the legitimacy of the implementation of the mother tongue learning in vernacular schools,” Fadhlina said in a statement today.
Based on the ministry’s (MOE) 2021 DLP Implementation Guidelines dated November 26, 2020, schools implementing DLP must ensure that opportunities for other students to learn Science and Mathematics in the national language or mother tongues are not affected.
She said the DLP management is through the respective State Education Departments (JPN), and schools have been given permission to open more than one DLP class for Standard One and Form One students based on the school’s readiness and assessment by the District Education Office (PPD) and JPN.
The DLP implementation is subject to the ministry’s decision to allow existing groups of students to continue DLP classes, according to individual school cases.
However, Fadhlina added that schools must comply with the existing guidelines for the new cohort of Standard One and Form One students in the 2024/2025 session.
— Bernama
