Dual Language Programme extended to all secondary schools next year – Sagah

KUCHING (Dec 1): The Dual Language Programme (DLP) Sarawak will be extended to secondary schools starting with all Form 1 students next year, said Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn.

He said these students will continue with DLP Sarawak until Form 5, where at upper secondary level (Forms 4 and 5), pure science subjects such as Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Additional Mathematics will also be taught fully in English.

“DLP Sarawak continues to be one of our main strategies to uplift the standard of education in Sarawak. By strengthening proficiency in English, Science and Mathematics, DLP Sarawak is helping to prepare our students to be more competitive and better equipped for the future

“This is especially important as we work towards increasing enrolment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields and producing high-quality graduates among ‘Anak Sarawak’,” he said in his ministerial winding-up speech.

He said the DLP Assessment Test Sarawak 6 (UP-DLPS 6) conducted on Oct 15 and 16 saw an overall passing rate of 90.97 per cent, where English achieved the best results among Science and Mathematics.

“This performance validates the success of our current English proficiency initiatives,” he added.

Sagah said a total of 1,050 government, government-aided and private schools implementing DLP Sarawak, involving 29,002 Year 6 pupils, participated in the UP-DLPS 6 for Mathematics and English, while around 29,000 pupils sat for the Science Paper.

He said though the Science performance was encouraging with an overall passing rate of 84.71 per cent, the number of high achievers was quite low, which suggested the need for more effective teaching and learning approaches in Science.

“Mathematics remains the most challenging subject, particularly in rural schools and Sekolah Kurang Murid (SKM), or low enrolment schools. The overall passing rate for Mathematics is at 61.01 per cent.

“This area requires immediate and focused intervention.”

He added that his ministry will continue to intervene where necessary to ensure better outcomes in the coming years, as strengthening these subjects must remain an urgent priority if Sarawak is to build a highly skilled workforce by 2030 and beyond.