The Education Ministry will introduce more language subjects to be taught in national primary schools, says Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin.
He added that this is one of the government’s initiatives to make national primary schools the preferred option for parents.
Among the extra language subjects offered to students enrolled in national primary schools in the country include Mandarin, Tamil, and Arabic.
“The government will continue to strengthen Sekolah Kebangsaan through programmes highlighted in the Malaysia Education Development Blueprint 2013-2025,” he said in a written parliamentary reply.
Meanwhile, he also said that the government has implemented eight actions to enhance and empower national primary schools.
Apart from ensuring that all Year One students master reading, writing, and calculating skills, Radzi said the other measures included holistic student development, which included cognitive, affective, and psychomotor aspects; creating a healthy school culture; and strengthening the curriculum and sports activities implementation.
Stay competitive by mastering more than 1 language
When speaking at the Ministry of Education (MOE) 2022 National Language Decade Celebration, Radzi encouraged students to master more than one language in preparation to face a world full of challenges these days.
“In the context of a borderless world today, every language has a role to play. At the same time, we must remember that there is huge competition in the world now and that’s why anyone who masters a language will have an added advantage,” he said.
At the same time, he also emphasised on the use of Bahasa Melayu as the national language is for national development, as well as a pillar of unity.
“For Malaysians, Bahasa Melayu as the national language is the basis, it is our loss if we know it is our basic language but we do not improve our mastery,” he said.
