Proposal to push school starting time to 8am divides public

JOHOR BARU – The proposal to change the starting time for government schools across the country from 7.30am to 8am has divided parents and guardians.

The majority of netizens seem to be of the view that it would be more prudent to maintain the current schooling hours while focusing on improving the education syllabus. 

For social media user Farah Ashikin, the government’s proposal to change the schooling hours does come with benefits, given that many parents start work at 9am. 

Usually, parents have to leave their homes at about 6.50am to send their children to school. If the change is implemented, it would allow parents to leave later, Farah said.

“Since we use the same route, I can go to work right after dropping them at school (if they make changes to the schooling hours),” she said.

Some parents opine that pushing the school start time to 8am will allow them to leave later for work instead of having to do so in the early hours of the morning. – SYEDA IMRAN/The Vibes pic, February 1, 2023

Another netizen, Abdul Shukur Ismail, opined that the proposal is not appropriate in light of the fact that some schools have two sessions. 

“If morning students go in at 8am, what time would the afternoon session start and end? We prefer it if they can come home by 6.30pm. 

“It is better to solve the problem of overcrowding in schools and make sure there is only one school session throughout the country,” Shukur said, as reported by Getaran, The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister portal.

Improve syllabus instead

Meanwhile, Rossanita Othman hoped that other aspects of schooling can be improved first. 

“I think it is better to look into the current school syllabus,” she said. 

The same view was expressed by Noordineyatulzawi Baharuddin, who denied there was a problem with the current schooling hours. 

“It is better to look into the education syllabus rather than change something that was never a problem in the first place,” she said.

“Before this, going to school before 8am was never an issue.”

Previously, an education expert at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Centre of Education Research, Anuar Ahmad, was quoted as saying that the Education Ministry (MoE) should shift the school starting time in Peninsular Malaysia to 8am. 

The Education Ministry is considering various views from stakeholders on avoiding having SPM examinations in November and December due to the monsoon season. – AZIM RAHMAN/The Vibes pic, February 1, 2023

He said the move would be in line with the Malaysia Madani concept recently introduced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. 

Elaborating further, Anuar said that the government should sympathise with teachers, parents and students who may have to wake up as early as 4.30am. 

Besides the issue of school starting time, MoE has also considered various views from stakeholders on avoiding having SPM examinations in November and December due to the monsoon season.

The ministry noted in a statement in December that conducting the SPM examinations in the monsoon season can cause stress not only for the teachers and examination staff but also for the students and parents involved.

“By having SPM in February or March, the waiting period for the candidates concerned to enter university will also be shorter,” it said. However, the decision on this is still pending.

The school session for the academic calendar of 2023/2024 will start on March 19 this year for schools in Group A states and March 20 for schools in Group B states.

For the Group A states – namely Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu – the school session will last until March 9, 2024, while for schools in Group B states (Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan, and Putrajaya), it will last until March 10, 2024. – The Vibes, February 1, 2023