PUTRAJAYA: The implementation of the Dual Language Programme (DLP) in schools will be managed by the respective state education departments, says Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.
She said that the DLP implementation would be handled separately and on a case-by-case basis.
"We will look at it based on the (school's) issues and obstacles where it will be resolved at the guideline level.
"This, for example, will be taken into account by the state education department and at school level," she said at a press conference at the School Curriculum Professional Discussion 2027 programme, here.
Yesterday, the Education Ministry permitted the full implementation of the DLP in five schools, which are SK Convent Bukit Nanas (1), SK Bukit Damansara, SJKT Vivekananda, SJKT Segambut, and SJKT Ladang Edinburgh.
In a sighted document from the Kuala Lumpur Education Department to the related district-level education departments and school principals, over the approval to implement DLP in full, the letter dated Dec 1 was signed by the Kuala Lumpur Education Department chief Roslan Abu Hassan.
"This agreement (for full implementation of DLP) is only for Standard 1 pupils batch 2023/2024 in the involved schools."
The Kuala Lumpur Education Department has also instructed schools to inform their respective Parents-Teacher Association (PIBG) of the decision, as well as the parents or guardians of the pupils.
Previously, the New Straits Times reported how parents of Year One pupils in four schools recently protested over the Education Ministry's stricter DLP conditions which required a minimum of one full class per school learning the subjects in Bahasa Malaysia as a "prerequisite" for DLP classes.
They had questioned the need for the Education Ministry to now push for "stricter" DLP conditions that required a minimum of one full class per school learning the subjects in Bahasa Malaysia (BM) as a "prerequisite" for DLP classes.
This requirement, seven years after the DLP programme started in 2016, has led to an overnight shift for some pupils, who are now required to study the subjects in BM instead of English.