UP to 135 Tamil schools are expected to be affected by the Education Ministry’s plan to combine schools with fewer than 30 pupils, Malaysia Nanban reported.
There are reportedly 432 primary schools with fewer than 30 pupils located within five kilometres of another such school in the country.
With a total of 532 Tamil schools nationwide, activists are worried that the measure will affect a staggering 26% of the Tamil schools.
About 200 (3%) out of the 5,870 national primary schools and 97 (7%) of the 1,300 Chinese-medium schools are also set to be affected by the measure.
Activists said the plan to address the long-term issues faced by low pupil enrolment will have a disproportionate impact on Tamil schools.
The merging of schools will also affect the positions of headmasters and teachers at these Tamil schools, the daily reported.
> A student from SJK (T) Ladang Sg Choh has set a record by reciting 100 Thirukkural verses in eight minutes and 39 seconds, Malaysia Nanban reported.
Baran Raj, a Year Three pupil at the Rawang school, attempted the feat at an event organised by the Malaysian Natyanjali Arts Academy.
The event took place at the Batu Caves temple compound and was witnessed by pupils and teachers from the school.
● The above article is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with this ' >'sign, it denotes a separate news item.
