Education Ministry to go back to January start of school year… eventually

KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — The Education Ministry has provisionally agreed to starting the academic year in January again, based on feedback from parents and relevant parties.

However, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek told Parliament that this would not take place soon.

“For your information, the ministry has received many recommendations on the significance of reverting the school session back to January especially from parents.

“And the ministry has principally agreed to revert the school session back to January, but not in the near future,” she said in her winding-up speech for Budget 2023 at committee stage in Dewan Rakyat.

She said the ministry must consider various factors for the move including compliance with the Education Act 1996 and ensuring it would not disrupt the existing syllabi as well as national examinations.

“The MoE also needs to take into account the uncertain weather and the level of the local economy, before returning the school session to January.

“We also need to comply with (several aspects), including the number of students attending school which cannot be less than 190 days in a year,” she added.

On March 15, Education director-general Datuk Pkharuddin Ghazali said the ministry has no immediate plans to bring back the January school year as had been the practise before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.

He said the ministry must be mindful of the legal requirement for the school year to have at least 190 teaching days, adding that the move would result in fewer school holidays.