SARIKEI, Oct 2 — Schools with a low enrolment of pupils need to hold various interesting plans or programmes to help increase the numbers, says Deputy Education Minister Lim Hui Ying.
She said this includes having pre-school classes to ensure a larger number of pupils enter Year One in the respective schools.
“The issue of low enrolment can be overcome by having pre-school. With having many pupils enrol in pre-school, it can guarantee higher enrolment in Year One. We need to have many programmes and plans in school so that parents or guardians will be interested in sending their children to school,” Lim told reporters after visiting SJK(C) Bulat here today.
She hoped all schools and principals would take this responsibility seriously and it was up to the schools to decide for themselves on the ‘packages’ to attract students.
Lim said under the Education Act 1996, the Ministry of Education (MoE) welcomed primary schools to have pre-schooling for children between the ages of four and five.
“As long as the schools can accommodate students in the classrooms, they can start pre-school classes. So as long as there are students who register, it is the MoE’s duty to send a pre-school teacher or an assistant to the schools that will start the pre-school class,” she said.
If this issue cannot be overcome, then the schools in question need to consider merging with nearby schools or moving to other areas that have a large population.
Before this, Lim had visited SJK (C) Tong Hua and SMK Tong Hua in Bintangor.
The deputy minister, who will end her week’s visit to Sarawak tomorrow, said the aim of the visit was to monitor the progress of maintenance works in government schools and government assistance.
