KUALA LUMPUR: Lockers will be installed at double session schools for students to store their textbooks so that pupils don't have to carry heavy bags to schools daily.
Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said the move is part of the seven new initiatives to ease the long-standing problem of students carrying heavy bags to school.
In a video posting on Facebook today, Senior Education Minister Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin said the ministry viewed the issue seriously and has come up with several practical solutions to address the problem.
"The problem of students having to carry backpacks with heavy textbooks has been there for about three decades. This issue was first brought up in 1994 and since the education ministry has conducted three surveys so far for the most appropriate solution and has come up with seven ideas today.
"We have decided to install lockers at schools for students in level 1 which consists of students from primary one, two and three."
He said the locker system is estimated to cost RM37.3 million will be installed in two phases involving 10,662 classes and 323,000 students nationwide.
"We will start with primary 1, 2 and 3 and second level for primary four, five and six which will be installed by 2023," he said.
For single-session schools, he said the students will be allowed to store their textbooks in their classroom desk drawers.
"We have also decided that only three or four subjects will be taught each day.
"Schools will be given allowance to decide on the subjects to be taught in a particular week, on a rotational basis," he said.
Thirdly, Radzi said the ministry realised that students tend to bring more than two exercise books for each subject, but now they have come up with a two-book only rule per subject.
"Even that, each exercise book can't be more than 80 pages. Students will only use the Activity Book provided by the ministry and any workbook will be used for reference purposes only.
Radzi said the ministry has also transcribed 692 books into digital textbook formats for students to easily access them online.
"This way, they do not need to have to carry the physical books with them for classes. Teachers too are encouraged to use modular teaching, projects, virtual lab and alike for teaching," he said, adding that this would reduce textbook dependency and make the process fun for students.
He said students would also wear their school uniforms, without having to change into their KAFA uniforms, while attending the KAFA classes after school.
"We will form a task force to monitor the implementation of these seven initiatives. However, parents too must cooperate with the ministry and school in executing these actions.
"We noticed that some students end up bringing all the textbooks without following the subject timetable," he said.
Meanwhile, the Education Ministry in a separate statement said among the seven initiatives to resolve the long-standing issue of heavy school bags holistically includes the restructuring of daily timetable limiting to only three or four subjects a day.
The restructuring of the timetable, said the ministry, will be implemented based on the importance of the school subjects, the availability of teachers and the sessions of the schools.
"In addition, schools will be given the flexibility to prepare timetable according to weekly cycle which has been implemented at several schools under the ministry," read the statement.
The ministry will also set up a special team to monitor the implementation of all the initiatives. The special team will submit a weekly report on the implementation of the initiatives to the ministry.
"The ministry will also organise more engagement sessions with Parent-Teacher Associations as one of the approaches to monitor the implementation of the initiatives," the statement read.