No cut in Tamil, Mandarin or Malay teaching hours under new curriculum

 The education ministry says the decision follows consultations with stakeholders and a review of the 2027 school curriculum.

Earlier, MIC deputy president M Saravanan objected to a proposal to reduce weekly Tamil-language teaching periods in Tamil national-type schools from 12 to 10 under the proposed restructuring of the 2027 curriculum. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

The education ministry has decided to retain the 12 weekly periods for Bahasa Melayu in national schools, Mandarin in Chinese national-type schools and Tamil in Tamil national-type schools (SJKTs) under the 2027 school curriculum (KP2027).

The ministry said the decision was finalised following a review and discussions with stakeholders during engagement sessions on the country’s future curriculum.

“The ministry would like to express its appreciation to all parties who contributed their views. Language proficiency and the learning needs of pupils across all school streams remain a priority in the country’s curriculum reforms,” it said in a statement.

Earlier, MIC deputy president M Saravanan objected to a proposal to reduce the number of weekly Tamil-language teaching periods in SJKTs from 12 to 10 under the proposed restructuring of KP2027.

He said the proposed reduction raised concerns among teachers, parents, parent-teacher associations and the Indian community about the future of mother-tongue education.

Saravanan said he wrote to education minister Fadhlina Sidek on Nov 4 to object to the proposal, with a copy of the letter sent to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. - FMT