KUCHING: Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid supports Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem’s emphasis on the use of English in the state, besides Bahasa Malaysia.
“I think there is truth to what he had said, because if you want to go to international stage, we want those who are proficient
not only in Bahasa Malaysia, but also English and other languages,” he told reporters after the official opening of Sekolah Kebangsaan Matu Baru, here, yesterday.
Mahdzir was commenting on Adenan’s decision to allow the state to use English in inter-government correspondence and to adopt English as the state’s second language.
He said the Education Ministry would continue to support whatever programmes run by the government to enable the people, especially school children, to increase proficiency in English.
To encourage learning of English among students, Mahdzir said his ministry would be introducing the Dual Language Programme (DLP) next year to some 300 schools throughout the country.
“For schools that are ready, their parents-teachers associations are ready, they can teach Mathematics and Science and Skills subjects in two languages either English (or Bahasa Malaysia).”
He said although many schools in urban areas were ready to adopt this new programme, rural schools that were not ready yet were not required to do so.
Meanwhile, Mahdzir wanted maintenance and repair works on 300 schools in the state that were in poor conditions to be done immediately.
“We have received a list from the state Education Department. Out of 1,300 schools in Sarawak, about 300 schools need maintenance allocation. We will go by those schools that are in very critical condition according to the state constituencies. We have got all the schools and they should be repaired immediately, not next year.”
Mahdzir was asked to comment on the third and final series of the 2014 Auditor-General’s Report that was released last Monday, which singled out only schools in Sarawak for poor conditions.
The AG found more than a quarter of all schools in Sarawak with ‘serious defects’. The report said 388 schools were either deemed to have inferior quality of building or bad maintenance, of which 124 “had serious defects that require immediate and urgent repair”.
Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah, who is the minister in charge of education, said Sarawak had applied for RM422 million this year to repair schools but the federal government only approved RM95 million.
She also said the RM422 million was the cost estimate to repair 981 schools that needed urgent attention. All except 39 of the schools were in rural areas.
In noting that the state required more funds to maintain and repair the schools, Mahdzir said the repair works would be done in phases and should start immediately.
However, he said all repair works must have approval from the Public Works Department, and no repair works can be carried out without the green light from the department.
Among those who were present were Wan Junaidi’s wife Datin Sri Feona Sim Abdullah, Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Islamic Affairs) Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman, Pantai Damai assemblyman Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi and wife Siti Syorgayah Mohd Zaidin and state Education Department director Rakayah Madon.-Borneo Post
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