Looking forward to a new school year
SCHOOL holidays are coming to an end, and that means it is time for the school year to begin for 4,700,836 students, ranging from year One to Form Six.
Education director-general Datuk Dr Amin Senin said of the total, 446,694 are Standard One pupils, and 382,531 are Form One students.
“A total of 207, 680 preschoolers are also expected to enroll for preschool under the ministry,” he said in an interview recently.
The 2018 school term, will see students in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Johor (Group A) start tomorrow (Jan 1), while students from Perlis, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Melaka, Pahang, Sabah, Sarawak and in the Federal Territories (Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur and Labuan) (Group B) will start the next day (Jan 2.)
As for school holidays, all students will have 72 days of holidays.
He said the 2018 school term was planned by the ministry based on information on national and state holidays provided by the Cabinet Division, Constitutional and Intergovernmental Relations of the Prime Minister’s Department.
“It also included suggestions and views from teachers associations, state governments, state education departments and several ministries.”
He said the 2018 school calendar, which can be obtained from the ministr y’s website w w w.moe.gov.my will be a guide not only to teachers but also parents.
“The school calendar will allow the teachers and school administrators to manage its operations throughout the year, while the parents can plan for family holidays with their children.”
Amin said the one- week Term 1 Holiday is from March 16 for Group A and from March 17 Group B.
“The two-weeks Mid Year Holiday for Group A will start from June 8 for Group A while Group B will commence a day later.
“Term 2 Holiday (one week) starts from Aug 17 for Group A and from Aug 18 for Group B.
“The five weeks Year-end Holiday will begin on Nov 23 for Group A and from Nov 24 for Group B.”
Amin said the ministry also has standardised festive holidays for each state.
“Ever y festival- Chinese New Year, Pesta Kaamatan (Harvest Festival), Hari Gawai and Deepavali, will be given additional holiday allocation.”
For the Chinese New Year celebrations, which falls on Feb 16 and 17, Group A and B will be getting additional holiday allocation starting from Feb 15 to 19.
“For Deepavali (Nov 6), an additional holiday allocation from Nov 4 to Nov 5 will be given to Group A, while Group B (except Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan) will be on holiday from from Nov 5 to Nov 7.
“For Pesta Kaamatan (May 30 and 31), schools in Sabah and Labuan will get an additional holiday from May 28 to Jun 1.
“During Hari Gawai (Jun 1 and 2), schools in Sarawak will get an additional holiday from May 30 to 31.
“As for Hari Raya Aidilfitri (June 15 and 16) and Christmas (Dec 25), both however, fall during the Mid Year and Year-end holidays.
Amin said the ministry has allocated special holidays (cuti peristiwa) of not more than four days a year to the schools.
“School heads can apply for this special holiday, subject to approval from the registrar, if the school needs a special holiday for certain occasion.
“However, this special holiday cannot be used to extend school holidays (as scheduled by the ministry in the school term calendar).”
The special holiday need not be replaced.
He added, school heads were also authorised to temporarily close the school for a certain period of time in the event of an emergency or natural disaster.
“But prior to that, school heads must inform the respective state education director, verbally and using official letter.
“The number of days taken for the purpose however must be replaced.”
Meanwhile, sharing on his hopes for the new school term, Amin said the ministry hopes to bring back fun in the classroom, especially at the primary school level.
“As the Primary School Assessment Report (PPSR) has been implemented beginning this year, and schools no longer have to pursue the School Average Grade (GPS), the ministry hopes pupils will get a solid and holistic primary education.
“We want pupils to be taught in more holistic manner and to not have the focus solely on education achievement alone.”
He also called for more collaboration between parents and teachers in order to support the student-learning process.
“As the ministry and teachers are doing its best, parental involvement is also important to ensure good progress of the students, not only in academics but also in personal development.”
He said collaboration between parents and teachers is in line with the ministry’s Parent Engagement Toolkit (called Sarana Ibu-Bapa), which advises parents on how to play an active role in helping their children succeed in schools.
“As parents become more involved in school, it will help them to better approach their children and recognise their potential .”