KUCHING, Dec 2 — The Dual Language Programme (DLP) in Sarawak will be expanded to secondary schools beginning in 2026, the State Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Seri Roland Sagah Wee Inn said.
He said with this expansion, all Form 1 students will enter the DLP stream and continue under the programme until Form 5.
“At the upper secondary level, the initiative will take a significant step forward, with core pure science subjects – Biology, Chemistry, Physics along with Additional Mathematics, will be taught entirely in English,” he said when winding up the debate for his ministry at the Sarawak State Assembly here on Monday.
He added that the programme continues to be one of the state’s main strategies to uplift the standard of education in Sarawak by strengthening students’ proficiency in English, Science and Mathematics, to help preparing the students to be more competitive and better equipped for the future.
“This is especially important as we work towards increasing enrolment in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields and producing high-quality graduates among anak Sarawak,” he said.
Previously, the DLP Sarawak programme required all national primary schools in the state to teach Science and Mathematics in English, complemented by the Ujian Penilaian Dual Language Programme (UP-DLP) – an assessment used to measure students’ performance in Science, Mathematics and English.
On another note, Sagah said that the Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre (SIDC) is expected to be completed in October next year.
He said the medical research centre, located in Samarahan, is currently 40 per cent complete and is set to become a key hub for infectious disease surveillance and biomedical innovation once fully operational.
“SIDC’s focus areas cover several significant diseases affecting both human and animal health, including tuberculosis (TB), malaria, dengue, African swine fever, rabies and soil-transmitted parasitic infections,” he said.
On the Free Tertiary Education Scheme (FTES), he said that 64 courses have been approved under the scheme across four Sarawak-owned institutions of higher learning namely Swinburne University of Technology, Curtin University of Technology Sarawak, University of Technology Sarawak and i-CATS University College.
“The detailed list will be announced by Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg on Dec 18,” he added.
