SECONDARY schools in Sarawak will teach Mathematics and Science subjects in English in stages from 2026, said a state minister.
According to state education, innovation and talent development minister Datuk Seri Roland Sagah Wee Inn, this has been agreed upon by the federal education ministry with a circular being drawn up, FMT reported.
English will be the medium of instruction for Mathematics, Additional Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, he said.
“Guided by our Sarawak Attorney-General’s Chambers, my ministry and the federal education ministry are in the process of formalising these agreed-upon points into circulars and regulations to ensure their adherence and continuity in the future,” he was reported as saying to the state assembly.
Sagah further stated that Year 6 students in the state will have to undergo assessments for the English, Mathematics and Science subjects from 2025, with Form 3 students having to undergo similar examinations from 2028.
These assessments are to replace the UPSR and PT3 examinations which were abolished by Putrajaya in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
In his justification of the reintroduction of assessments for Year 6 and Form 3 students, Sagah said the decision to scrap the major examinations “does not work in our circumstances for now”.
“So many of us here including me have gone through a series of robust standardised assessments and examinations during our school days,” he remarked.
“It worked well and, maybe, when the time is right with considerable achievement in development, such as ample professional development opportunities for teachers, the school-based assessment may be implemented again.”
Sagah said his ministry is currently in the midst of finalising talks with an international accredited assessment provider over the assessments, and assured that the examinations would not burden students, teachers and parents. – May 13, 2024
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