KUALA PERLIS, Oct 5 — The mastery of the Malay language among pupils from national-type Chinese (SJKC) and Tamil (SJKT) schools can be improved through the organisation of oratory and storytelling competitions, said Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui Ying.
She said such a competition could not only improve the Malay language proficiency of the pupils, but also instill a love of the language and the spirit of unity in them.
“…it (oratory and storytelling competitions) demonstrates that pupils from national-type schools are not only proficient in their native tongue, but also in Bahasa Melayu.
“…I believe that (through the competitions) the audience will be able to see our children’s potential in using the national language to convey stories and deliver speeches,” she said.
She said this when officiating the closing ceremony of the national-level Perpaduan Perdana Menteri Cup SJKT and SJKC Malay Language Oratory and Storytelling competition 2023 here last night.
At the event, S. Thaaranii of SJKT Kamunting, Perak, and Ray Ong Kaa Rui of SJKC Batu Sebelas Cheras, Selangor, were named the winners of the storytelling and oratory categories, respectively, while Kuala Lumpur was crowned the overall champion of this year’s competition.
Meanwhile, during a press conference held after the event, Lim said the Education Ministry would work with the Communications and Digital Ministry (KKD) in an effort to realise the education digitalisation agenda in the national education system.
“We will work closely with KKD to ensure all schools have good internet access.
“KKD has already taken a number of measures and obtained the data on which schools need attention, we hope to be able to resolve this issue (Internet access coverage in schools) soon,” she said.
Last Tuesday, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek was reported to have said that the education digitalisation agenda in the national education system will be among the focus of Budget 2024 which will be tabled this month.
She said the agenda would be fully driven through the allocation of Budget 2024 to support the Digital Education Policy, which aimed at producing students with digital skills in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0.
