Educators must have a growth mindset

All state education departments would have briefed principals on the Dual Language

Programme (DLP) by now. Either state education departments still do not understand what

the objectives of DLP are, which is highly unlikely, or they are pushing for their own twisted

interpretation of what DLP is, which will in turn be highly damaging to the future of students

and the nation.

PAGE has been informed that an officer with the state education department of Kuala

Lumpur, in a recent briefing, has advised principals that if a student speaks the English

language then put him/her in a non DLP class where science and mathematics are taught in

Malay or Tamil language. It is perceived that the student’s proficiency in the Malay or Tamil

language will drop otherwise. This is a gross misrepresentation of the facts. Principals have

been misled despite the clear guidelines on DLP and the media attention given to it.

Parents must be crystal clear about DLP. Read the Surat Pekeliling Ikhtisas Kementerian

Pendidikan Malaysia Bilangan 3 Tahun 2020 Penambahbaikan Garis Panduan Pelaksanaan

Dual Language Programme Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia Tahun 2021 (SPI DLP KPM

2021) dated 26 November 2020 which is readily available on moe.gov.my.

In the past, six-year-olds who could barely read or write were put through a rigorous

assessment in the Malay or Tamil language depending on the type of school the students

are enrolled in, ignoring parents’ wishes.

On 14 February 2024, the Ministry of Education (MOE) released an important statement

saying that schools are not required to assess students to determine if they are eligible for

the DLP. “There is no provision within the DLP that requires schools to conduct assessments

to determine if students qualify for DLP classes”. Admittedly, the MOE has relented and

PAGE hopes that these assessments will end here and now.

While the DLP may appear trivial now, it will determine whether or not we will continue to

be in a straightjacket, strapped within the middle-income trap or emerge again, as an

economic powerhouse. The MOE speaks about the “growth mindset”, a new word trending

among educators, but is it merely rhetoric? Parents have to aim higher. Malaysia has to

think big if it aims to be technologically more advanced. There is no more turning back. Even

slowing down is not a choice.