School sessions can't change drastically

The former Education Malaysia director general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom.

SHAH ALAM – The school academic calendar can’t change drastically because there are three factors that need to be considered before school can start in January again.

Former Education Malaysia director general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said among the factors are firstly, the total number of school days and holidays in a year; secondly, if students get enough time to study before sitting for exams and thirdly, the teachers and students’ mental health.

Alimuddin said, based on these three factors, there is no specific time period that can be given to parents about restoring the school academic calendar to January.

“It’s hard for us to realise the parent’s wishes who want the school academic calendar in 2024 to begin in January because theschool session this year had started in March.

“Students have to complete 190 compulsory school days a year and within this time period, there are examinations and so on,” he told Sinar on Thursday.

Previously, Sinar had reported that the Education Ministry had gave assurance that the school session would start on January again, but it will require a certain period of time before it can be implemented.

The school academic calendar was changed from January to March since 2022 after the Education Ministry announced the school session in 2021 would be extended until February of the following year due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, Alimuddin said if the implementation was done in haste, it is feared that it will cause injustice to a number of students.

“Students who are sitting for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) need ample study time before they can sit for the examination.

“Apart from exams, holiday dates also need to be taken into account. Since long ago, we have a certain number of days for school holidays and it is not allowed to be reduced because students and teachers need the time to rest,” he said.

He said if the number of holidays are reduced, it may pressure the groups.

Therefore, he hopes parents can be patient while the Ministry tries its best to revert back to the school academic calendar as per usual.