Reduced classes in English irks group

PETALING JAYA: Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim has accused certain school principals of acting under verbal instructions from unnamed sources to restrict access to Dual Language Programme (DLP) classes.

“Those attempting to reduce the classes should be reprimanded. Reforms must be carried out within the Education Ministry to stamp out the problem as the DLP is an initiative to empower Bahasa Malaysia (BM) and strengthen English in schools,” she said, adding that such actions are detrimental to students, teachers and parents.

DLP was launched in 2013 to replace the “Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English” programme, allowing educational institutions the option of conducting the two subjects in either language.

Noor Azimah said academies and cultures have their own identities and have been doing well while implementing the DLP.

“There are some outstanding schools that can sustain 100% DLP status. Let them be and do not fix what is not broken.

“We are working with parents to have the affected schools’ DLP status returned. We want to engage with the ministry on the process of sustaining such schools for the benefit of students,” she added.

“The parents at some primary schools were previously assured that their children would be taught Science and Mathematics in English.

“But at the beginning of the academic year, (such institutions) were told not to operate as a 100% DLP school. Those already learning in English then experienced a sudden change in how they were taught.

“Parents who consented to DLP classes are now given the runaround. Those who lack initiative and drive were at a loss and chose to give up.”

According to the Education Ministry, there are 1,613 DLP primary schools and 815 DLP secondary schools.

Noor Azimah said the changes would impact the educational opportunities of 462,026 students as they would be less likely to grasp technological advancements and build on them.

“The DLP addresses the language of knowledge and technology, which is vital if Malaysia wants to forge a future in the digital economy, science, technology and innovation.

“Any reduction is tantamount to a failure to align with the country’s education and development goals as our youths would be unable to create, innovate and articulate ideas.”

She said language nationalists view it as a threat to the sovereignty of BM as the national language, adding that such thinking was ill-conceived.

“The importance of BM has always been at the forefront. A recently added criterion to conduct the classes was that schools needed to meet the national average for BM, which is counterproductive.

“More focus should be placed on schools immersed in the BM environment to achieve the national average for that subject instead of appeasing language nationalists.”

Meanwhile, LeapEd Services executive director Nina Adlan Disney said the eligibility for DLP classes is based on opaque assessments of student proficiency in BM instead of English.

“One justification given for the pullback is that it might jeopardise their command of BM in the future. It would be interesting to see if there are any statistics to prove the supposed correlation.

“We should not look at language through a political lens, but celebrate multilinguism instead,” she said, adding that the initiative is a means of embracing globalisation and enhancing student competitiveness and employability.

Nina said the reduction would affect the already marginalised and less socio-economically advantaged population living in rural areas.

According to her, the DLP issue is the latest in a long line of perceived radical changes in Malaysia’s education system.

“Pulling the plug so abruptly makes parents feel they have been misled and misinformed, deepening their distrust in the system.

“Many would view it as the final straw for national schools. It would also continue to anchor the deep-rooted issue of educational polarisation based on race, religion, language and
socio-economic status.”

from Highlights https://ift.tt/wTregmb
via IFTTT