Parents in the dark over KL school’s sudden DLP cuts

 

Parents of children in a Kuala Lumpur primary school have appealed against a reduction in DLP classes.

PETALING JAYA: A group of parents whose children attend a primary school in Kuala Lumpur remain in the dark over cuts made to the Dual Language Programme at the school, five months after seeking clarification.

During the first week of classes, they were told that not all Standard 1 students will be taught science and mathematics in English.

“Out of nowhere, we were informed through WhatsApp that they will separate our kids into two classes – one is non-DLP and the other DLP,” a parent told FMT on the condition of anonymity.

The WhatsApp message on March 20 stated that schools were informed by the Kuala Lumpur Education Department to not hold full DLP classes for Standard 1 students from the 2023-24 academic year.

This shocked many parents as they enrolled their children into the school with the expectation that their children would study science and mathematics in English for all six years of primary school.

“It’s kind of disappointing to all the parents,” said another parent.

The parents also said they were not informed how their children were evaluated and sorted into either DLP classes or non-DLP classes, other than that their fluency in English and Malay would be assessed during their transition programme.

“Students will be chosen to attend the DLP class based on their good command of the English and Malay languages,” the message stated.

When the school’s Parent-Teacher Association sought clarification from the KL education department, they were told that the matter was not under its jurisdiction but under the education ministry’s school management division.

The PTA then sent a letter and petition signed by 31 parents to the ministry on May 25 seeking a reversal of the decision, but they are still waiting for the ministry to respond.

FMT has reached out to the education ministry and Kuala Lumpur education department for comment.

The parents also sought help from Yunus Yasin, president of the Association of Science, Technology and Innovation and a known advocate for young people venturing into science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Yunus told FMT that the DLP is a good initiative and that cutting down on these classes would not be in the children’s best interest.

He said the DLP should not be politicised and that parents and teachers of each school should be allowed to hold direct negotiations to decide on what was best for the children.

“A child’s education is a personal thing. It should not be a national issue,” Yunus added.

The Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) has urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to intervene, saying that DLP classes should be developed further to prepare future generations for high-value jobs.

Language nationalists

PAGE chairman Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim also objected to one of the criteria for the DLP, which requires students to consistently perform well in the Bahasa Malaysia (BM) subject.

She said the BM requirement was added at the last minute to appease the language nationalists, automatically halving the number of schools that can choose DLP.

The primary school in KL is not the only school facing the same dilemma. In March, parents from five Tamil primary schools in Johor staged a peaceful protest over the loss of DLP classes, The Star reported.

One of the PTAs of the Johor schools said students had access to DLP classes for the past five years but there was a sudden change this year, with only one class of 35 students allowed to enrol for DLP classes.

The ministry eventually decided to increase the DLP classes for four of the five Tamil schools for the current school session after discussions with the PTAs, teachers and parents. - FMT