‘Govt confident dual-language programme will bear fruit’
The Sarawak government is confident that its dual-language programme (DLP) will bear fruit, said Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister Datuk Roland Sagah Wee Inn.
He said this is because the programme is designed by people with expertise who know the needs of the future.
“Despite facing the volatility, uncertainty, challenges, complexity, and ambiguity of the pandemic in the past year, thanks to our state leaders, educational institutions, and educators’ perseverance, we managed to make sure that there is no delay in our DLP Sarawak implementation.
“This year, our Year 3 Science and Mathematics teachers have been trained under the training programme designed by the Teachers Education Institute Batu Lintang Campus to meet Sarawak’s education needs.
“And next year, the Year 4 teachers will also be trained,” he said.
Sagah’s text-of-speech was read by Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development permanent secretary Azmi Bujang who officiated the closing of 2nd International Conference on Education Transformation, here Wednesday.
Earlier, Sagah said that the Sarawak government recognised the importance of the English language as an international language and the lingua franca for global trade.
Quoting Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, he said Sarawak has accepted Bahasa Malaysia as an official language while retaining English as an additional official language which can be used for communication.
“Despite the national policy on the use of Bahasa Malaysia as the only official language, our premier stood firmly on his decision because the use of English in Sarawak is guaranteed by Article 161(3) of the Federal Constitution which relates to the use of English and native languages in Sarawak.
“It is important not to forget our heritage language and be proud of our identity as Sarawakians, but at the same time, it is important that Sarawak continues to use the English language as we enter the era of digital, secular, and hydrogen economy.
“That is why we fought for DLP Sarawak. With DLP Sarawak, our schools emphasise on the use of English in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects.
“Other countries had gone past Malaysia in education because they kept making changes and improvements. But we are not stagnant as far as Sarawak is concerned, we are moving forward,” he said.
He also emphasised the importance of DLP.
“Firstly, it is to support ‘Memartabatkan Bahasa Malaysia dan Memperkukuh Bahasa Inggeris’ policy.
“Secondly, we want our students to gain access to information in the field of science, mathematics and most recent knowledge of technological advancements in the world by equipping them with English language as the ‘key’ to the world of global learning.
“This way, Sarawak will never be left behind in the Industrial Revolution 4.0 so that we can achieve our aspiration and goal of Sarawak becoming a highincome state by 2030,” he said.