KUALA NERUS: The Education Ministry will examine how rules on the teaching of Tamil in secondary schools can be relaxed.
Minister Fadhlina Sidek said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's recommendation will be re-examined by the ministry's policy-level committee.
"The prime minister's recommendation on the teaching of Tamil in secondary schools is a new issue and needs to be studied in detail by the committee at the policy level," she said after an event at Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Mahmud, here, today.
Also present were ministry secretary-general Datuk Nik Nasaruddin Mohd Zawawi and state Education director Abdul Muie Ngah.
On Saturday, Anwar said he would discuss the matter with Fadhlina.
He said the current rule requires a Tamil language class to have a minimum of 15 students.
"In schools around the world like the United States and China, people encourage students to master two or more languages, which in this case means Indian students mastering Bahasa Melayu, English and Tamil. I think it's an advantage for Malaysia to have students who master more languages," he said.