Rural, urban literacy improving, says report

The Education Ministry’s Literacy and Numeracy Screening (Linus) 2.0 2016 programme has shown improvement in English literacy among urban and rural students. The comparison of data shows a percentage of literacy of 89.19% for urban students and 84.37% for rural students.

Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon said that there are some divergence between urban and rural areas. As outlined in the 2013-2025 Malaysian Education Blueprint (PPPM), the Education Ministry is committed to reducing the education gap. He said that the Linus programme is currently undergoing improvements through several areas.

“Among others, the pedagogic module of Linus 2.0 is prepared for students who have yet to gain the required literacy, while training is provided for English teachers in primary schools and special schools. The ministry had also introduced the Professional Upskilling of English Language Teachers (Pro-ELT) initiative for teachers to up their level in their English language proficiency to the minimum required level. The implementation of the Highly Immersive Programme (HIP) has also been extended to improve the English proficiency of students through increased exposure in schools,” he said.