SHAH ALAM – The Education Ministry’s decision not to have academic classes in the first week of the 2023/2024 school session was made after conducting a review to ensure the circular will have an impact on the relevant parties, said minister Fadhlina Sidek.
She said it was not easy for the ministry to cancel the original 34-year-old circular implemented when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim took office as education minister.
“It’s hard to cancel the circular from the boss himself. We took a long time to ensure that this circular can really have an impact on our children, which will translate to cheerful students, happy teachers, unrivalled schools, and a thriving nation,” she said.
The PKR women’s chief said this in her winding-up speech at the party’s special congress at Malawati Stadium here today.
Education Director-General Datuk Pkharuddin Ghazali was quoted as saying that no lessons would be held in the first week of the new academic year 2023/2024 beginning March 19 and 20, to make way for sessions that instil physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and intellectual values.
The new academic year will start on March 19, 2023, to March 9, 2024, for Group A states, and March 20, 2023, to March 10, 2024, for Group B states.
Group A involves Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu, while Group B covers Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya. – Bernama, March 18, 2023
