SUNGAI PETANI: The Education Ministry is awaiting the full report from the police on the suicide of a 13-year-old Penang student on Saturday.
Its minister Dr Maszlee Malik said the ministry would also conduct its own investigation before taking further measures including changing learning modules, if necessary.
“I am sad about the incident, because the school should be a happy place for students to acquire knowledge and be nurtured. But if it has reached a stage of pressure....this should not happen.
“At the moment it is too early to do anything as we are still waiting for the police investigation and ministry report,” he told reporters after visiting Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Merbok which was hit by the Lekima typhoon recently.
The student hanged himself in the bathroom of his parents’ flat at Jalan Paya Terubong, Taman Sri Relau, in George Town, Penang.
It was reported that the teenager had often complained to his parents about having too much schoolwork.
Meanwhile, Maszlee, when referred to his statement on Twitter that the government would provide pupils with breakfast in school from 2020, said the concept was to ensure a balanced diet for the children.
“We want them to have nutritious food as we want to build a healthy generation with an intelligent mind. The programme will also enable the pupils to master civics, where they will eat with the teachers and learn about good eating manners and habits such as washing your own plate,” he said.
On a separate matter, Maszlee said the ministry has allocated RM24 million for restoration works on schools and education institutions in northern peninsula that were damaged by the typhoon on Aug 9.
In a statement today, he said RM6.8 million from the amount had been disbursed to date. - Bernama