3,038 schools under-enrolled, says deputy minister

 

Deputy education minister Wong Kah Woh says none of the under-enrolled schools will be closed.

TELUK INTAN: A total of 3,038 schools in the country are categorised as under-enrolled this year, with fewer than 150 pupils each.

Deputy education minister Wong Kah Woh said the schools would, however, continue to be given attention by the ministry, and none would be closed.

“This includes providing allocations for facilities and upgrading work to be given equally to all types of schools,” he told reporters after visiting SJK(T) Ladang Sungai Samak in Ulu Bernam here today.

Wong said Perak alone had 419 under-enrolled schools, and the state education department had allocated RM38,000 to all government schools this year regardless of the number of students.

He also said the education ministry had drawn up several strategies to deal with the issue under the SKM Implementation Roadmap initiative.

These strategies include the implementation of combined classes, the merging of under-enrolled schools, and the transfer or relocation of schools.

“The combined classes would involve pupils in Standards 2, 3, 4 and 5 in schools with an enrollment of 30 and below,” he said.

Earlier, Wong visited six schools in the Teluk Intan parliamentary constituency and gave an allocation of RM50,000 to each school for upgrading and maintenance work. - FMT