The Education Ministry has been urged to train more teachers to acquire proficiency in the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English.

The move is to ensure there are a sufficient number of such teachers, and also to be in line with the government's approach to allow the teaching of both subjects in English.

National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Harry Tan Huat Hock said the number of teachers capable of teaching both subjects in English, is limited nationwide.

“Schools that offer dual language programme (DLP) need to be given due attention and the matter should not be left to the school management only.

"The ministry also needs to ensure the principals can also converse in English fluently so that they can run the programme smoothly,” he told Bernama.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced on Saturday that the government is taking the middle-road approach to the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English in schools, but at the same time, the teaching of both subjects in the national language will also be continued.

Mahathir said the middle-road approach would be implemented as there were Malaysians who supported the use of English to teach the subjects, while others were against it.

The DLP programme, implemented in national primary and secondary schools since 2016, allows selected schools to teach Science, Mathematics, Information Technology and Communications, as well as Design Technology, in English.

Meanwhile, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) Faculty of Human Development lecturer Prof Saedah Siraj also expressed concern over teachers’ proficiency to teach both subjects in English.

“At the primary school level, teachers are still able to deliver in English despite the lack of English-proficient teachers. The problem will arise in the secondary school where English proficiency is necessary,” she said.

Malaysian English Language Teaching Association (Melta) president Prof Ganakumaran Subramaniam said bilingual instruction via DLP could be improved so that students could improve their language skills in both English and Bahasa Malaysia.

“If the implementation of the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English or the national language becomes the choice of students and parents, then the decision of this bilingual classes should be determined by the school’s stakeholders,” he said.

National Parent-Teacher Associations Consultative Council president Associate Prof Mohd Ali Hassan hoped the government would consider refining the existing approach because it was feared it could affect the gap in knowledge acquisition.

“Are there enough available teaching staff for the purpose, and is there a guarantee there will be healthy competition in those schools?” he asked.

- Bernama