Julaihi (left) discusses a point with an officer at the State Legislative Assembly Complex. – Photo by Chimon Upon

KUCHING: Students in the 20 Sebuyau schools involved in the Newspaper in Education (NIE) Programme have shown improvement in their level of English language proficiency.

Sebuyau assemblyman Datuk Julaihi Narawi said the programme, which began last year, involved using The Borneo Post as a learning tool.

He provides the English daily for the 3,000 students – 2,032 pupils from 19 primary schools, and 942 students from the area’s only secondary school.

“According to the reports which I have received from the headmasters and the education officers in Simunjan, recently there are signs of improvement in terms of the students’ English standard, especially in the last UPSR (Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah) results.

“Even the principal of the secondary school was telling me that there are some improvements,” the Assistant Minister of Coastal Road told The Borneo Post at the State Legislative Assembly Complex yesterday.

Julaihi said he was also informed by Sebangan Zone Headmasters Council chairman Mohd Ramlan Bohari that schools in Sebangan zone are top among the schools in Simunjan in the English language largely due to the NIE programme.

“In this case where we are trying to help students to increase their proficiency in English, we need to encourage students to speak, write and read more of English. And of course, you have to read a lot. This is one of the ways to improve English,” he said.

“That is why we need to provide them with all the reading materials. That is why I am subscribing the newspaper and distributing it to all the schools in my area.” He further pointed out that English is the language of knowledge and communication in this digital world.

“English is an international language. It is a global language. In order to keep pace with development in the world, we need to know English.

“And in Sarawak, we are talking about digital economy where English is the language of communication. It is also the knowledge language right now. To keep up with the latest developments, our younger generation must be proficient in English,” he added.