Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s (UKM) Malaysian Inclusive Development and Advancement Institute (MINDA-UKM) believes that the proposal to make national schools (SKs) as multilingual learning centres is realistic due to Mandarin and Tamil language classes already being offered in certain schools.
According to a report by Sinar Harian, MINDA-UKM’s Deputy Director, Dr Anuar Ahmad, shared that these classes were implemented at the request of parents, with a minimum requirement of 15 students per class. Parents, including Malay parents, had made applications through their respective Parent-Teacher Associations (PIBG).
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“We did propose this, and in fact, some SKs have already implemented it by offering Mandarin and Tamil subjects after receiving requests from parents. If there are 15 students, then Mandarin and Tamil classes will be opened. So, our education system does celebrate the existence of languages other than Malay, English and Arabic,” he said.
This comes after PAS proposed that Mandarin and Tamil subjects be introduced in SKs as a step towards fostering national unity and eliminating suspicion between races.
MOE will provide teachers if there is a demand
Dr Anuar Ahmad added that the Ministry of Education (MOE) also provides trained teachers for Mandarin and Tamil subjects when there is sufficient demand for them.
“Therefore, I fully support and hope that SKs will become schools that offer a variety of languages to their students.”
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