No takers for non-DLP class
GEORGE TOWN: There are around 400 Form One students in SMJK Chung Ling and all of them want to learn Science and Mathematics in English, according to the school.

This makes it an issue with the Education Ministry directive mandating at least one class must teach these subjects in Bahasa Malaysia (BM) for any school wanting to implement the Dual Language Programme (DLP).

Chung Ling board of directors secretary Foo Wan P’ng said all parents preferred both subjects to be taught in English as in the previous DLP.

“Some parents are worried that forcing this requirement on their children would end up affecting their academic performance,” he said yesterday.

Foo was among representatives of 11 SMJK and Chinese secondary schools in Penang that were not in favour of the latest directive where at least one class must be set up for Science and Mathematics to be taught in BM, as a prerequisite for the DLP to be conducted.

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Members of school boards and parent-teacher associations (PTAs) urged the Education Ministry to do away with the directive, saying there would be no takers if Science and Mathematics were taught in BM.

Penang Chinese Girls High School PTA chairman Dr Goh Huck Keen said the directive from the ministry stated that there must be at least one classroom of 20 students where Science and Mathematics are taught in BM as part of the criteria to offer the DLP.

SMJK Jit Sin parent-teacher association PTA chairman Laeu Boon Hui said there were about 1,100 students in the school.

“Based on our survey, 99.5% of parents were not favour of the two subjects being taught in BM,” he said.

SMJK Chung Ling board chairman Datuk Seri Koay Hean Eng, who spoke on behalf of the 11 SMJK and Chinese schools, said a letter from the Penang Education Department dated April 15 had shown that DLP schools must include a mandatory non-DLP class as part of the criteria to carry out the programme.

He said the circular from the Education Ministry was sent to 36 primary and 52 secondary schools in Penang.

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“The implementation of this non-DLP class using BM as a medium of instruction has resulted in confusion and psychologically affected the pupils,” Koay told a press conference at the Penang Chinese Town Hall in Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling here yesterday.

He added that the policy had ignored the will of the parents and went against the original intention of the DLP, which was to strengthen and better equip the students in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

“The DLP in Science and Mathematics not only ensures continuity for students when they pursue their tertiary education, but also enhances their competitiveness in the international arena.

“If the intention of the Education Ministry is to improve students’ proficiency in Malay, then it should improve the language’s syllabus and review its teaching methods, rather than using it as a medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics,” said Koay.

He said the schools are urging the ministry to listen to their plight and respect the will of parents by returning to the original intention of the DLP for Science and Mathematics.

In December last year, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said field visits by the ministry showed that pupils in DLP schools did not have a basic level of proficiency in BM.

Therefore, schools that have agreed to DLP implementation must ensure the fulfilment of all criteria including mastery of BM, she had said.

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Full-DLP school heads had been told to include a mandatory non-DLP class from this academic year as part of the criteria.

However, stakeholders pointed out that was not listed in the original guidelines from the ministry’s Expert Circular Letter Number 3 of 2020: Improvement of the Education Ministry’s DLP Implementation Guidelines for 2021.

The DLP, announced in Budget 2016, was introduced to improve English proficiency of students through the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in that language, as well as to increase their employability and ability to compete globally.

It was one of the initiatives under the Upholding the Malay Language and Strengthening the English Language (better known by its Malay abbreviation MBMMBI) policy.

When contacted, the Education Ministry said that the implementation of the DLP is based on guidelines as stated in a March circular.

It said that schools must ensure that there is at least one class in each Year or Form that conducts the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics using BM or their mother tongue as the medium of instruction, starting from Year One and Form One for new academic sessions beginning from the year 2024/2025.

“Schools implementing the DLP must ensure that opportunities are also provided to students who apply to study Science and Mathematics subjects in their national language or mother tongue,” it added.
SMJK Chung Ling,Education Ministry,DLP
GEORGE TOWN: There are around 400 Form One students in SMJK Chung Ling and all of them want to learn Science and Mathematics in English, according to the school.