Student dropout: MoE holds SBJK engagement sessions with 11 states

KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of Education (MoE) has conducted engagement sessions with 11 states on the need to expand the Sekolah Bimbingan Jalinan Kasih (SBJK), which is a programme created to provide access to education for children who have dropped out of school.

Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh said it involved Penang, Johor, Pahang, Terengganau, Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Kelantan, Perak, Sabah and Sarawak.

“The findings of the engagement session will be reviewed before a final decision is made by MoE,” he said in response to a supplementary question by Roslan Hashim (PN-Kulim Bandar Baharu) who enquired about the effectiveness of SBJK in reducing school dropouts, during the question and answer session in Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

Wong said SBJK was introduced in 2013 in Chow Kit here to provide access to education for street and marginalised children around the capital before being expanded to Sekolah Kebangsaan Sembulan in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah in October.

He said based on MoE statistics, the dropout rate at primary school level last year was only 0.06 percent, down from 0.29 per cent in 2017.

“At the secondary school level, the dropout rate decreased from 1.36 per cent in 2017 to 0.83 per cent in 2023 and if compared between primary schools in the city and rural areas, the rate of students leaving MoE schools in the city is 0.37 per cent, while primary schools in rural areas (0.1 per cent).

“For secondary level, the dropout rate is 3.13 per cent in the city and 4.67 per cent in the rural area. This rate takes into account all students who attend school in Malaysia,” he said. — Bernama