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KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- The Education Ministry plans to have more boarding and day secondary schools offering Japanese language as the third language after Bahasa Malaysia and English.
Director-general of Education Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said for this purpose, the ministry would increase the number of teachers who could teach Japanese language.
"Each year, we will increase Japanese language lessons at the boarding and day secondary schools when our students, who are pursuing studies in Japan, return to Malaysia," he told reporters after opening the Osaka University Forum 2009 here on Tuesday.
At present, Alimuddin said there was a shortage of teachers who could teach foreign languages as the demand not only came from schools, but also from the ministries and government departments.
As at 2008, he said, 43 boarding schools and 29 day secondary schools were involved in the Japanese language programme, with Malaysia ranked 12th in the world in terms of the number of people learning the Japanese language.
Several Japanese language teachers from Malaysia, India, the Philippines, India, Singapore and Thailand are participating in the two-day forum to discuss several issues concerning language and education.
Asked on the investigation into the collapsed suspension bridge at Sekolah Kebangsaan Kuala Dipang, Kampar on Oct 26, Alimuddin said the special committee would convene another meeting next Monday.
"By next week, we also hope to be able to submit the investigation report to the deputy prime minister (Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Education Minister)," he said.
Alimuddin said the special committee, which comprised representatives from the Works Department, police and Perak government, held its first meeting last week.
In the incident, two pupils from Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) Mambang Di Awan and another from SJKT Gopeng drowned when the bridge, which connects the school and the Kampar District Education Office's co-curriculum centre, collapsed while they and several other pupils were crossing it.
-- BERNAMA
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