Fostering the Dual Language Programme will ensure the nation’s future
Parents have to make a choice when deciding what kind of education their children will have and, ultimately, that decision will have a large impact on the direction and trajectory of the children’s future. The growing popularity of religious Islamic schools, such as tahfiz and pondok schools, seems to attract some parents. Parents who are on the same page as us at the Parent Action Group for Education, Malaysia (Page Malaysia) believe that our children should be taught science and mathematics in English. That is, by right, the choice parents can make at schools offering the Dual Language Programme (DLP). More schools should be made to offer the DLP so that pupils can be educated in accordance with the wishes of their parents, as clearly stated in the Education Act 1996.
The learning of science and mathematics in English is in no way meant to compete with Bahasa Malaysia (BM), for it is not a competition. BM is above politics and reigns supreme in its own league. However, having said that, the teaching, learning and development of BM must be made simple, so the language is easy to use and understand. The level of BM is another subject of contention that needs further discussion. BM taught and used in schools is no longer as easy as it used to be, unlike in the days when pupils used to sit for the Sijil Rendah Pelajaran. Uplifting the national language to a higher level doesn’t mean that it should be so sophisticated that schoolchildren would have trouble comprehending it. What needs to be prioritised is building their bilingual proficiency. That is the plan — the basis of the current policy: Uplift the national language and strengthen English (hereafter referred to as MBMMBI, the BM abbreviation of the policy).
Accelerating progress: Reflecting on Gentari's two-year journey in the clean energy landscape
Two years of putting clean energy into action: Gentari offers clean energy solutions through three initial core pillars - Renewable Energy, Hydrogen and Green Mobility - forming a portfolio of solutions cutting across the electron value chain to help customers achieve net zero emissions.
The DLP is a subset of the MBMMBI policy. This programme is a win in many ways. Not only can it improve English proficiency through longer exposure time, but it also allows the application of English in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related subjects and much of the knowledge of the world in its original form. This is the preparation needed for the future workforce, for the sake of the nation’s economic well-being.
The New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030 is the current target that the country is working to achieve. It aims to transform Malaysia into a high-value, innovation-driven economy by leveraging the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and emerging technologies. STEM is a key focus area of the NIMP.
NIMP is needed to spearhead us into a promising future. Our national debt stands at a whopping RM1.5 trillion, almost three times more than 10 years ago, when it was RM539.9 billion. We have been borrowing money over the years to pay creditors and are dependent on Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s fuel taxes and dividends. The proportion of our population that pays income tax is very low; it stands at 4% compared with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development average of 35%.
Getting our workforce to be highly skilled is not a choice but a necessity. Highly skilled labour will be able to attract bigger and better foreign and domestic investments and, at the same time, a higher number of skilled workers earning above the income tax threshold will contribute to income tax generation.
Sarawak is our best model in its pursuit of its new economic approach. It is free from the encumbrances of petty politics that focus on race, religion and language. The prime minister even suggests that the Sarawak chief minister should give a talk to the cabinet ministers about Sarawak’s new economic model. One thing is for sure: Sarawak is passionate about getting its education on the right path. The state is going full-speed ahead with DLP, adopting it 100% to develop the desired workforce to feed the industries it has mapped out.
Sadly, in the peninsula though, we seem gung-ho about the many plans that we have developed, we lack the will to implement them properly. Worse, we create bumps and roadblocks to accommodate imaginary threats without much thought to the bigger picture, creating more damaging consequences, and being unjust to the victims of collateral damage along the way.
The DLP is a classic example. Currently, only 20.74% of primary schools and 33.21% of secondary schools offer DLP. Without Sarawak’s schools, the number of primary schools offering DLP significantly drops to 4.5%. Instead of expanding the DLP programme, the numbers are shrinking due to these self-imposed roadblocks. Only 7.4% of primary school and 12.17% of secondary school students are eligible to enrol in DLP classes.
Fully residential schools such as Ulul Albab, Science and Agama schools started off with 51 schools offering full DLP classes. Now only 19 of them offer all DLP classes. The rest of the 32 fully residential schools now offer a combination of DLP and non-DLP classes.
Under the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, Mara had started DLP in all 57 MRSM schools. In 2023, DLP was abolished in all MRSM except for the 12 offering IGCSE. The abolition even includes the students in Forms 2, 3, and 4 who are already immersed in DLP.
Such regressive steps are counterproductive to developing the STEM graduates the country aspires to have. Concerned parents are fighting to ensure that their children continue with the DLP programme because schools have received orders to switch to the non-DLP modality midway through the year, even though the schools meet the DLP criteria.
DLP should be offered and elevated in the many religious, pondok and tahfiz schools so that their students too are well equipped for the world. Manufacturing, apprenticeship and vocational programmes driven by industry will find it easier to train these students if they have received immersion in DLP as their STEM foundation. Surely having such a skillset would give them an added advantage to capitalise on such industry-led programmes, and give them better prospects.
DLP is the way forward. It complements the NIMP 2030 plan. We cannot afford to be embattled in petty politics over measures that will hold us back. Develop the highly skilled workforce now and reap the economic gains in the future.
Comments