MoE to assess need to postpone school term opening after floods: Radzi

PUTRAJAYA – The Education Ministry (MoE) will examine the need for any school to postpone the third term 2021/2022 opening based on how badly the schools are affected by the floods, says Senior Education Minister Datuk Radzi Jidin.

He said at the moment, MoE is evaluating the damage to the schools’ infrastructure, including computers, furniture and textbooks.

“Generally, we cannot postpone the school session. MoE is working hard to resolve the issue of schools affected by the floods before the opening of the new session.

“For cases where the condition of the school is showing that it is still not prepared (for the opening of the new session), we will take appropriate action. The matter will be looked at on a case-by-case basis,” he told reporters after officiating a community programme here today.

He appealed to schools to work together with the state and district Education Departments by listing out the needs of the schools, like furniture and textbooks, to facilitate aid distribution.

Earlier, Radzi announced that the third term 2021/2022 school session – which was supposed to begin on January 2 for Group A and January 3 for Group B – had to be postponed by a week because of the floods.

He said states in Group A – comprising Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu – will begin school on January 9, while Group B – comprising Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan – will start on January 10.

Radzi added that the MoE would still implement a rotation system for student attendance when the school opens and the details would be announced soon. – Bernama, December 26, 2021