The Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia (PAGE), backed by 36 allied groups, has called on the Ministry of Education (MOE) to broaden the Dual Language Programme (DLP) to additional schools nationwide. The group, led by Chairman Datin Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim, has submitted a memorandum to 31 ministers, including MOE, seeking their endorsement for the program's expansion. The memorandum also urges the Education Ministry to reconsider a prior directive requiring participating schools to establish at least one non-DLP class, citing a violation of guidelines.
"The inclusion of a non-DLP class is not within the established guidelines. We support the existing guidelines and are simply advocating for their adherence, without introducing additional restrictions that could undermine the success of the DLP. The government aims to enhance students' proficiency in both English and Bahasa Melayu, and the DLP is designed to achieve precisely that and more", she informed. Noor Azimah emphasized that the inadequacy in Bahasa Melayu proficiency should not serve as a justification to prevent students from participating in DLP classes. Instead, she suggested immersing them in Bahasa Melayu programs without eliminating their choice of the DLP.
According to Noor Azimah, the memorandum also aimed to maintain the current number of fully implemented DLP schools. Simultaneously, it sought to promote and assist partial DLP schools in transitioning to full-fledged ones by expanding DLP schools, classes, and student participation. She mentioned that Malaysia has 1,600 DLP schools, including 1,200 in Sarawak alone. Previously, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek stated that the Ministry of Education(MOE) has no objections to schools that have fully adopted the DLP, and the guidelines for the DLP remain unaltered to date.
