S’wak’s first statewide Dual Language Programme exam set for Oct 15–16 with Cambridge-vetted papers

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, Aug 10: Sarawak will hold its first statewide Dual Language Programme (DLP) examination for national primary schools (SK) on Oct 15 and 16, using question papers vetted by Cambridge University Press and Assessment (CUPA) and adopting the Cambridge Certificate of Education (IGCSE) scoring system.

According to a Sarawak Public Communication Unit (Ukas) news report, State Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation, and Talent Development, Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee, said the exams in Mathematics, Science, and English are designed to assess school and student performance rather than to rank schools.

“There will be no best-school announcements. The report will only indicate the number of excellent students and those below average, so that weaker schools can be given support,” he said when speaking at the presentation of Rural Small Project (MRP) grants to schools in the Nangka constituency at SMK Agama Sibu today.

He added that while the questions will be locally prepared, they will be reviewed and approved by CUPA to ensure they meet international quality standards.

To safeguard exam integrity, the papers will be printed outside Sarawak, classified as confidential, and three separate sets will be prepared. Marking will be carried out by external examiners at undisclosed centres in three zones, namely central (Universiti Teknologi Sarawak), northern, and southern, with strict rules prohibiting scripts from leaving the marking rooms.

Only SKs implementing the DLP will take part in the test, while Chinese national-type primary schools (SJKC) are excluded as they do not run the programme.

Dr Annuar said the results will be used as the basis for offers to certain Sarawak Foundation programmes, replacing the previous process of applications and headmaster recommendations.

Separately, he revealed that Sarawak Foundation School will move to its new building by the end of September, accommodating 98 Year 7 students. — DayakDaily

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