KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Education Minister Senator Chong Sin Woon quashed rumours that Chinese and Tamil primary schools (SJKC) are required to increase the teaching time of Bahasa Malaysia (BM) to conduct 300 minutes of BM lessons in a week for Standard Four to Six.
Chong said the matter discussed during an internal ministerial meeting on March 8 and it was affirmed that Standard Four to Six students would continue to 240 minutes of BM lesson in a week.
"Perhaps the district education office had not been informed of the decision,” he told reporters at a press conference in Wisma MCA here on Friday.
Under the Education Ministry’s Primary School Standard Curriculum (KSSR) guidelines implemented in 2011, BM lessons for Standard One to Three in SJKC will be increased to 10 periods of 30 minutes each in a week, hence the 300 minutes in a week.
For Standard Four to Six, there would be eight periods per week with 30 minutes per period, thus 240 minutes per week.
Some parents have expressed concern that the increase would take up the time allotment for other lessons, as there were only six BM periods in a week previously.
At the same time, he reiterated that the National Professional Qualification for Education Leadership (NPQEL) certificate is a prerequisite for teachers to become principals, as announced by the Ministry of Education in July 2013.
He said there had been complaints that it is difficult for teachers to fill the principal's post.
"It's not that we are putting pressure on teachers, it's just that they must be equipped with leadership skills before they qualify to be appointed as a public school principal.
"This is to raise the quality of education through school leadership," he said.
NPQEL is available from Institut Aminuddin Baki (IAB), the country's main educational management institute.