School Bags Guideline for Schools, Teachers, Students and Parents

The Ministry of Education recently issued a handout dated 12 September 2018 on the guidelines to address the issue of  heavy bag problems in school.  The guideline covers guidelines for school, teachers, students and parents.

Guideline for school

1. Arrange school time table to 3-4 subjects per day

2. Encourage modular teaching in line with 21st century learning so that assessment activities can be completed in school and homework reduced

3. Create a locker system if possible for storing books and other stuff. Only books requiring homework is taken home.

4. Have regular two-way meetings with PIBG to discuss and resolve the heavy bag problem.

5. School can arrange to have free drinking water so that students do not have to bring water tumbler (subject to agreements between school and canteen operator)

6. Can consider special tables with locker facilities as an alternative to lockers that are kept outside the classroom.

7. Check the weight of students' bags regularly.


Guideline for teachers

1. Give clear instructions to students on the books/items that are required to be brought to school for the next day.

2. Minimize the number of exercise books per subject (for Upper Primary students).

3. Advice students to bring books and items according to time table.

4. Plan lessons according to 21st century learning styles. It is recommended to complete all lessons in class and if unable to complete, activities or exercises should be carried forward to the next lesson.

5. Encourage students to keep books and other items in lockers or cabinets if provided by the school.


Provide guidance to students

1. Advice and guide students to bring textbooks and activity books according to time table.

2. Advice and guide students to bring only essential items that are required for learning in school.

3. Advice and guide students to do daily checking and arranging of books and other items required for learning in school.

4. Advice and guide students to keep books and other learning items not required for homework in the school locker/cabinet (if provided by the school)

5. Roller bags are discouraged because the weight and use of the bag may create problems for the shoulders.


Recommendations to parents and guardians

1. Provide appropriate school bags

2. Encourage and guide children to pack school bags according to school time table

3. Get your child into the habit of doing daily checking and sorting of school bags

4. Avoid children from carrying thick and heavy books (exercise books/comics/reference books)

5. Teach your child to put down their bags while waiting for transporter, during assembly etc.

6. Once a week, remove irrelevant items and books, pieces of paper etc from school bag and sharpen pencils etc.

The above is a translation of the guidelines that was issued on 12 September 2018 by the MOE.

Download the full set of guidelines from the MOE official website from this page. Look for the link that says

Surat Siaran Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia Bilangan 8 Tahun 2018 Panduan Menangani Isu Beg Berat Murid Di Sekolah

Update on DLP (Dual Language Programme)

Quick Overview of the DLP (Dual Language Programme)

DLP which is short for Dual Language Programme is a programme where Math and Science are taught in English for schools approved to do so.  Please read our earlier post on What Parents Need To Know About DLP for a more detailed explanation.

The DLP was first implemented in 2016. 2019 will be the fourth year of its implementation. Here is a quick summary of how it is implemented in schools which have been approved to run the DLP programme.

2016 

Std 1

Std 4

Form 1

2017

Std 1

Std 2

Std 4

Std 5

Form 1

Form 2

2018

Std 1

Std 2

Std 3

Std 4

Std 5

Std 6

Form 1

Form 2

Form 3

2019

Std 1 to Form 4

2020

Std 1 to Form 5

What Are The Schools Approved To Run The DLP?

At this point of writing, we do not have a list for 2019. For the 2016. 2017 & 2018 list, please read our earlier post on Complete List of DLP Schools (Note that the post mentions Selangor in particular but you can find the list for all states at the end of the post listed as First Cohort, Second Cohort and Third Cohort. You will need to look at all three to get the entire list)/

Is DLP Here To Stay?

Where are we headed and is DLP here to stay is a frequently asked question by parents. 

The Ministry of Education (Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia) recently uploaded an 18 page guideline plus 11 pages of attachment for the implementation of DLP wef 2018 (to replace its earlier guideline from 2015). This is an indication that it is here to stay and the implementation of it has been refined.

This post highlights pages 1, 3, 4 and 9 of the guideline. You can download the entire guideline from the MOE official website from this page. Look for the link that says 

Surat Pekeliling Ikhtisas Bil 8 Tahun 2018 (Garis Panduan Pelaksanaan Dual Language Programme (DLP) di sekolah-sekolah KPM Tahun 2018) 

- pada 5 October 2018

The first page of the guideline lists down the purpose and objective of the DLP. 

Page 3 lists down the criteria for selection of schools. The schools must have the resources, the head of school must have a plan on how to implement the DLP, there should be at least 15 written applications by parents and the school's UPSR or SPM results for the year before application should be the equal or higher than the achievement set by the MOE.

Page 4 lists down the procedure for DLP to be implemented in approved schools including the starting of DLP classes once the minimum of 15 students is achieved. It also states that once the school has been approved to start a DLP class, it must continue to Std 6 or Form 5 level even if the number of students drop below 15.

Page 9 highlights the action that is required by parents who wish to attend the DLP class for Standard 1, Form 1 and Form 4 levels in DLP approved schools. Parents must apply for placement on the given form during the first week of school. Once application is approved, parents must complete the consent letter. Should the application be rejected, parents must make an appeal within 7 days upon receipt of the letter of rejection. Finally, Form 4 students who have not attended DLP classes in lower secondary will be considered by the school based on the student's ability.

The rest of the document covers other guidelines including criteria for selection of teachers, curriculum, textbooks, assessment, withdrawal of student from DLP class,  transfer of student from one DLP school  to another, transfer of student from DLP school to non-DLP school, transfer of teachers and more.

In other words, everyone's role from PPD (Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah) to Heads of schools, teachers and parents have been set out in detail. Since this guideline is dated 5th October, 2018, it would mean that DLP is here to stay, for now.

Do SJKC and SJKT students need to attend remove class?

One of the frequently asked questions among parents of SJKC (Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina) and SJKT (Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil) kids who are going on to SMK (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan) is whether there is still a need to attend remove class and if so, what is the minimum grade required to advance to Form 1 without needing to attend remove class?

Recently, the Ministry of Education (Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia) sent out notices to schools regarding remove class for students going to Form One in 2019.

According to the notice as shown below, students born in the year 2006 or 1st January 2007, and who sat for the UPSR in 2018 with at least a Grade D in Bahasa Malaysia Paper One and Bahasa Malaysia Paper Two may advance to Form 1 in 2019 without attending remove class.

Those who did not manage to get the minimum Grade D in BM paper may appeal if they managed to get the minimum Grade D during school based assessments while they were in upper primary school. (Standard 4 - 6).

No other subjects are taken into account in the decision on whether to send a student for remove class or otherwise.

The above info is obtained from KPM official website.

Confident Speaking and Writing Through Science And Technology Holiday Programme

Hi parents,

It's October! The year-end school holidays begins next month! For those of you searching for school holiday programmes, it is a good time to start hunting now so that you can enjoy the early bird discounts.

Here's one for parents looking for English Language Holiday Courses. It's the British Council year-end holiday programme. The theme this year is Science and Technology. Participants will learn Confident Speaking and Writing through Science and Technology. 

Sign up before 31st October 2018 to get a 5% discount.

Confident Speaking and Writing through Science and Technology is available at all of the British Council centres in Malaysia including Kuala Lumpur, The Curve and Penang. The course will be held from 3-7 December 2018 for every age group from 5 to 17. The course is personalized for each age group using the Science and Technology theme.

There is a shift towards Science and Technology subjects in schools everywhere. Understanding the subject terminology and being able to express oneself well in this area is crucial. Having these incorporated into an English programme is a bonus.

Here's what you can expect for this year's English Holiday programme.

• 7 hours of fun learning each day
• 5 days of speaking and writing practice
• Creating posters and presenting them
• Imagining life on other planets
• Making up fictional animals
• Taking part in interactive experiments

Get full details from our earlier post British Council Year-End Holiday Courses 2018.

Summary
Programme: English Language 2018 Year-End Holiday Programme at The British Council Malaysia
Theme: Confident Speaking and Writing through Science and Technology
Where: British Council Kuala Lumpur, The Curve, Penang
When: 3-7 December 2018 (7 hours per day)
Fee: RM940
Early Bird: 5% discount for registration before 31st October 2018
Enquiries:  visit www.britishcouncil.my/holidays or call 03-2780 3894 (Kuala Lumpur / The Curve) or 04-202 0014 (Penang).

Also available exclusively at The Curve
Confident Speaking and Writing through Art and Culture
Date: 10 - 14 December 2018

This post was brought to you by British Council Malaysia