Kota Kinabalu: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Vice President David Ong (pic) has called on the Education Ministry (MOE) to engage closely with parents, educators, and vernacular education groups to ensure any syllabus reform enhances rather than diminishes classroom instruction.
He urged the ministry to reconsider any proposal to cut Chinese-language teaching periods under the upcoming 2027 school curriculum and retain the current schedule of 12 periods weekly for Years One to Three and 10 periods for Years Four to Six in Chinese primary schools (SJKC).
"If the syllabus remains the same but teaching time is reduced, teachers will have to rush through their lessons, leaving students with less time to grasp the material," Ong said.
He noted that Chinese serves as the medium of instruction for multiple subjects in SJKCs and pointed out that many non-Chinese pupils who do not speak Mandarin at home require more classroom guidance rather than reduced hours.
Ong rejected the notion that individual headteachers could simply schedule extra classes, warning that smaller or rural institutions lack the staffing flexibility to do so and could create unequal learning opportunities across schools.
While supporting the introduction of character education, he stressed that teaching core values like respect, honesty, and responsibility should not come at the expense of primary language lessons.
The MOE, however, on Thursday, confirmed that language allocations will not be reduced, announcing that 12 weekly periods will be maintained for Malay in national schools (SK), Chinese in SJKCs, and Tamil in national-type Tamil schools (SJKT) under the 2027 curriculum.
The ministry stated that the decision followed engagement sessions with relevant stakeholders and reiterated that language proficiency and student needs across all streams remain top priorities in curriculum reform.