Welcome back!: Azman (centre) and Aznan (left) greeting and handing out apples to students on the first day of school at SMK Sultan Ismail, Johor Baru.
JOHOR BARU: This year’s curriculum will not be affected by the Education Ministry’s efforts to restructure the academic session back to the pre-Covid-19 days by 2026.
Education director-general Azman Adnan said the number of school days will remain at 190 so parents do not have to worry about their children facing a packed schedule.
“The government has decided to return the start of the academic calendar to January in 2026 rather than March, which has been implemented since last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“However, this will not affect the curriculum; we will only shorten the school holiday period to maintain the number of schooling days at 190,” he said when asked about the matter during his visit to SMK Sultan Ismail here yesterday to welcome students back to school.
He added that the ministry had taken in the views of students, parents and teachers beforehand.
More than 1.44 million students in four states under Group A started their school session yesterday, including 602,619 students in Johor.
Group A are states of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, while Group B comprises the states of Selangor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak and the three Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya.
Azman said students in Group B will start their 2024-2025 school year today, bringing the total number of students nationwide to about five million.
“There will be no classes in the first week of the academic year. Instead, engaging activities will be conducted to introduce the students to the school environment and culture, giving them space to make new friends and get to know their teachers.
“This is part of efforts to make it interesting for them to attend school,” said Azman who, together with Johor education and information committee chairman Aznan Tamin, also handed out apples and stationery to the students.
