NUTP urges teachers to fact-check DLP

PETALING JAYA: National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) has lauded the move for the Dual Language Programme (DLP) to go on as planned and has some advice for schools and teachers: please fact-check everything you see online and don’t assume it is the truth.

Its secretary-general Harry Tan Huat Hock (pic) urged teachers to not get carried away with unconfirmed reports on social media, adding: “They should always refer to the Education Ministry’s official website for any information.”

Tan was referring to the recent chaos involving the DLP which sparked when a blogger calling her- self “Cikgu Nurul” posted a supposed announcement by a state education department that the programme was being put on hold.

The union, he added, welcomed the ministry’s statement on the programme, saying that it had “cleared the air” after so much uncertainty resulted from the blog post.

Referring to the 88 “new” schools approved to offer the DLP this year, Tan said there may be some “teething problems” and advised teachers to approach NUTP with any feedback.

“This is so that we can forward them to the ministry to tweak the programme or logistics,” he said.

A teacher from a school in Klang said the ministry’s statement was good news, even for teachers.

“We were praying that this programme would go on. We were worried when we heard about the so-called postponement.

“As teachers, we prepare our syllabus for the academic year in advance and when something like this happens suddenly, we do not know the reason behind the postponement and what the next (step is),” she said.

The teacher added that many parents sent their children to schools which offered DLP to ensure that they could learn Maths and Science in English.

“It is a wise decision by the ministry to implement the teaching and learning of Maths and Science in English.

“It helps in building students’ confidence when communicating in the language and accessibility to additional material and resources is easy,” she added.