Ministry in final stage of finalising DLP guidelines

KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry is at its final stage of setting the guidelines for the Dual Language Programme (DLP).
Its deputy director-general Datuk Sulaiman Wak said it is being handled by a team in the ministry and it involves the participation of top officials in the department.
"We are at the final stage of coming out with the new guidelines. It will be announced in the near time," he told reporters after attending the launching of World Bank report on Malaysia's education sector at Sasana Kijang today.
The matter concerning DLP came to limelight after a blog run by a "Cikgu Nurul" last month alleged that the programme, which was announced during Budget 2016, had been shelved by the ministry.
However, Deputy Education Minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan refuted the allegation. He said the ministry needed time to finalise the new guidelines.
DLP is an initiative taken by the government to allow selected schools to teach Mathematics and Science in both Bahasa Malaysia or English. Students can opt for either medium.
Asked whether there was a deadline for the ministry to finalise the guidelines, Sulaiman said: "We cannot wait any longer as various parties have been pressing us".
He also said it is normal for certain parties to not be on the same page with the ministry, following several criticisms and protests over the implementation of DLP.
"We are trying to think on what is the best for our country in terms of developing our human capital. It is not for now but for the future," he added.