626 Chinese primary schools, 383 Tamil primary schools lack students nationwide

There is a total of 3,062 primary schools with lack of students, as of May 31 2024, said Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.

Schools with lack of students are schools with 150 students and below.

“Out of this, 626 are Chinese primary schools and 383 primary Tamil schools. The balance 2,053 national primary schools,” said Fadhlina.

She also mentioned that several strategies are being formulate in the way forward plan implementation.

Fadhlina said this in her written reply to Idiris Ahmad (PN-Bagan Serai) who asked for the statistics of vernacular schools that are facing lack of students and the ministry’s schort and medium term plans on that issue.

“Merged classes are implemented in schools with mere 30 students and below and multiple grade teaching and learning are implemented by merging standard 2 to standard 5 students.

“Merged schools strategy involves the merges of two more schools of similar types within a 5 kilometer radius,” Dewan Rakyat was told

Such merges would require written agreement from the majority of parents.

Relocating schools with a lack of students to high populated areas are implemented to increase its enrolment.

This is done if the school meets certain criteria such as a new plot of land have been identified and written agreement from the majority of the parents.

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