Articles

The start of the new school year is not as smooth as hoped

Published by SchoolAdvisor | Jan 04, 2017

While millions of students start their schools around Malaysia, some students are facing the wrath of unfortunate weather conditions and other problems.Yesterday marked day one of the new school year. Some 2.2 million pupils started primary schooling around the country. Out of that number, 1.68 million students have enrolled in national schools and some 435,882 students registered in Year One, according to The Star.Deputy Education Minister, Datuk Chong Sin Woon, told the press that around 448,337 pupils enrolled into Chinese vernacular primary schools and 68,182 pupils enrolled in Tamil primary schools.He also said that there are 418,880 teachers on duties in primary schools in Malaysia including: 188,342 teachers in national schools, 37,014 in Chinese schools, and 9,357 in Tamil schools.Chong spoke to the press yesterday in SJKC Sungai Rotan in Terong, Taiping, Perak as he is there to address matter concerning low enrolment in SJKC Ngai Seng and SJKC Sungai Rotan where only two and one Year-One students enrolled in these schools respectively.These schools are considered low enrolment schools.Chong said that the ministry plans to hold discussions with all low enrolment schools in Malaysia on issues related to feasibility of relocation and operational costs."While we respect the stand of the schools on this issue, we will provide help and support should they wish to apply to relocate to more populated areas to cater to the educational needs of more schoolchildren," he said.Besides low enrolment in some schools, which is expected in certain areas, day one didn’t go on without difficulties.Floods in Terengganu, six schools have closed down yesterday. Schools in Kelantan are effected the most by the annual flood phenomenon. Media organisations reported that some 15,000 students missed school due to the closure of many schools in the state.Additionally, schools in rural areas of Sarawak continue to experience difficulties. Blackouts effected some 369 rural schools across Sarawak, according to The Borneo Post.The blackouts were attributed to shortage of fuel that operates power generators, which was caused by expired contracts. However, there has not been any official statement by the state’s Education Department yet.