The Education Ministry aims to raise the English standards of all teachers of the language to that of ‘proficient user’ by 2020.

The ministry’s English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC) director Mohamed Abu Bakar said only 52 percent of Malaysia's 40,000 English-language teachers today are graded at the ‘proficient user’ level under the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

These correspond to the C1 and C2 level, which are the two highest levels of language proficiency under CEFR’s six-band scale. C1 – the second highest – is the minimum level needed to teach effectively.

For the remaining 48 percent of English teachers, Mohamed said most of them are at the B2 level, which is the third-highest CEFR level.

However, training is already underway to improve their English proficiency.

“Training is going on (to reach the target) by 2020. In fact, when our teachers graduate from university and all that, their level was basically quite high.

“But partly because of postings, working in rural areas, and teachers themselves not keeping up with the language, you’d lose the language along the way. That is one of the main reasons.

“What we are doing is basically to boost them up,” he told reporters after the launch of the English Language Roadmap 2015 - 2025.

The launch was officiated by Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid. The ELTC is to be the lead agency responsible for implanting the roadmap.

The roadmap deals with English-language development from pre-school to universities and teachers’ training institutes.

The ministry will also be collaborating with Cambridge English, which is affiliated with Cambridge University, to ensure that the quality of English education in Malaysia is up to international standards.

“The roadmap will serve as a guide for teachers to ensure that students achieve proficiency levels aligned to international standards.

“It is the ministry’s responsibility to equip the students with language skills especially English, as schools offer the foundation level for the job market,” Mahdzir said.

To a question from reporters after the launch, the minister said there are no plans yet to make a pass in the English subject mandatory in SPM examinations.