KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 15): Concerned that the Dual Language Programme (DLP), which allows selected schools to teach science and maths-based subjects in English, is being undermined by new conditions imposed by the Ministry of Education, an education advocacy group is appealing to Cabinet members to keep the programme intact.

“Some parents of school-going children who are already enjoying DLP have been told to switch to non-DLP in 2023 as well as the upcoming academic year under duress,” said the Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (Page) in a memorandum to 31 Cabinet ministers. It said it had prepared the memorandum on behalf of parents who had chosen DLP for their children.

The memorandum, which is supported by some 35 education-related organisations and public interest groups, was made available to the media.

The DLP, which allows selected schools and classes to teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects in English, was introduced in 2016 as a radical approach to enhance English proficiency by way of immersion, and to acquire scientific knowledge in its lingua franca making students more marketable in the workplace, the memorandum said.

The concerned parents are objecting to new conditions that have been imposed on schools that are conducting the DLP, which they say will jeopardise the programme and their children’s welfare.

“Schools have been forced to open a non-DLP class in a full DLP school in the new academic year even if all criteria have been met. As it is, there are already very few full DLP schools that have met all criteria. A majority of subjects are still being conducted in BM in such schools. It is not a zero-sum game,” the memorandum said.

The DLP guidelines spell out four criteria for a school to apply for the DLP:

The school must have adequate resources to implement the programme; the head master must have an implementation plan for it; parents or guardians must consent to it; and, the school must achieve the required grade in Bahasa Melayu.

Additional conditions were included to ensure the smooth implementation of the programme.

What were not in the guidelines, the memorandum said, were that six-year-old children be subjected to a language assessment to determine placement in a DLP or non-DLP class; and that a non-DLP class must be established. These terms were forced onto schools, it said.

The compulsory implementation of a non-DLP class that is not supported by parents creates segregation and is deemed discriminatory, the memorandum said.

It subjects pupils who chose DLP to victimisation when they are forced into a non-DLP class, which is seen as meant for weaker students.

“This has psychological implications which creates demotivation and [loss of] interest in STEM,” the memorandum said.

In a statement in support of the memorandum, Royal Selangor International Sdn Bhd chairman Tan Sri Yong Poh Kon said: “We see a deliberate dismantling of the DLP with new conditions that defy logic and that would deny school going kids from getting better proficiency in English and STEM subjects.