Not a blacklist but a to-do list
Chong: It’s to ensure that problem schools get the attention they need
Calm down. The schools won’t be swarmed by the army or police.
Chong Sin Woon
PETALING JAYA: The leaked list of “hotspot schools” around the country is a proactive measure to ensure that they get the attention they need, and does not mean they are bad or problematic, Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon said.
The 402 schools on the list are at risk of disciplinary and drug problems, and the ministry and police are giving their full attention to protect students and stop such problems from taking hold, he said.
Chong said the information was given to the police to get their help in checking disciplinary problems in the schools.
“The list is to make sure that more resources, programmes and attention are given to schools that need it more,” he said yesterday.
“(The list) just means that the ministry is paying attention to the schools to check problems more effectively.
“Don’t misunderstand and label the schools as hopeless. Some are on the list because they’re located in crime hotspots and high-risk areas. Some are there because of truancy issues.
“We need the police to focus more on them to make sure that students there are not influenced by their surroundings,” he added.
Expressing regret that the list was leaked, he said parents should not panic if their children’s schools are on the list.
“Calm down. The schools won’t be swarmed by the army or police,” he said.
Earlier, Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, in saying that the list should not have been circulated, noted that some of the hotspot schools were those with cases of disciplinary issues, violence, drug abuse and truancy.
“In helping these schools cope with the problem, the ministry has set up a special committee headed by Deputy Minister Datuk Chong Sin Woon,” he said.
Of the 402 schools, 311 were under Category 1 for discipline problems and 91 under Category 3 for discipline and drug issues.
Under Category 3, Kuala Lumpur topped the list with 22 schools, followed by Kelantan (12), Selangor and Penang (nine each), Perak and Terengganu (seven each), Perlis and Negri Sembilan (five each), Kedah and Melaka (three each), and Johor and Sarawak (one each).
Under Category 1, Selangor topped the list with 67 schools, followed by Johor (62), Negri Sembilan (35), Pahang (30), Penang (28), Perak (23), Kelantan (20), Melaka (17), Sarawak (nine), Kedah (seven), Perlis (six), Terengganu and Labuan (three each) and Putrajaya (two).
Four primary schools were also on the list, with three in Melaka and one in Penang, all of them under Category 1.
The list was discussed at a meeting between ministry officials, the police, representatives from parent-teacher associations and NGOs in Putrajaya on June 24.
On Aug 11, Deputy InspectorGeneral of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim said that last year, more than 7,000 index crime cases involving juveniles were reported, compared with more than 10,000 cases the previous year.
He said every school nationwide has liaison officers to help teachers handle disciplinary and bullying problems.
Bukit Aman Crime Prevention and Community Safety Department director Comm Datuk Tajudin Md Isa said those behind the leak would be held accountable.
He also said that all school liai- son officers have been ordered to be more proactive, especially when dealing with the schools on the list.
“I have instructed the liaison officers to submit monthly reports detailing their monitoring of the schools.
“We started this last month,” he added.
Comm Tajudin said police would work with all stakeholders, including the ministry, parents and NGOs, to tackle the problem.
“We must look at the bigger picture. The list is there so that we can take the necessary action to overcome the schools’ problems,” he said.
Comm Tajudin said police were also looking into the possibility of directly engaging with parents whose children were deemed problematic or “high risk”.
“However, this is not finalised. We’re still discussing it with the ministry,” he said.
In 2013, the Education and Higher Learning Ministry proposed that the police set up a special department to curb crime and gangsterism in problem schools nationwide.
The department, similar to tourist police units helping to prevent crime in tourist destinations or hotspots in the country, helps schools monitor students’ activities.