A TOTAL of 221,512 students, including 21,053 primary pupils, started their 2024-2025 academic year in Penang today, according to state Education Department director Abdul Said Hussain.
He said the only new school operating this year on the island is SJKC Aik Hua. The school has been relocated from Muntri Street in George Town, northeast district, to Lilitan Sungai Ara in Bayan Lepas, in the southwest district.
The new Aik Hua school accommodates 146 pupils across 10 classrooms for a start, with six normal classes and four special needs classes.
Providing a detailed breakdown of student enrolment, Abdul Said disclosed that primary schools have admitted 117,585 pupils, lower secondary schools have registered 100,301 students and upper secondary schools have a student count of 3,626.
He also announced plans to introduce pre-school classes at SMK Guar Perahu Indah in central Seberang Perai and SMK Taman Widuri in south Seberang Perai. Initially, a single class will be started in each school, with the potential for expansion to two depending on the response.
Abdul Said underscored the importance of fostering a friendly, cheerful and enjoyable atmosphere during the first week of the school term.
“We want to create a friendly and loving school environment. The first week will be dedicated to engaging and enjoyable programmes, including games, leisure, aerobics, fitness and sports.
“The programmes are designed to instil various good moral values and contribute to the development of long term soft skills.
“They will also cultivate close cooperation and understanding among students, teachers, parents or guardians, and the community.
“This concept is in line with the Ministry of Education’s desire to produce happy students, happy teachers, and a happy community,” Abdul Said said.
SJKC Aik Hua board chairman Datuk Gary Choot Ewe Beng disclosed that out of the school’s 146 pupils enrolled for the current year, 52 were transfers from the previous school.
He said 23 are enrolled in Year One, 19 in Year Two, 19 in Year Three, 23 in Year Four, 15 in Year Five and seven in Year Six.
“There is still space available for the second to sixth graders. On top of that, the Education Ministry has approved an additional special needs class, making it a total of five. Each special needs class comprises 10 students.
“Currently, 80% of the students come from nearby residences. Due to manpower shortage, we cannot admit too many students. The school has the capacity to accommodate up to 1,000 students,” Choot said.
Many of the 21,000 students who began Year One in Penang today were excited to begin their school term.
Fadzlee Jamaludin and his wife, Anim Zohari, brought their seven-year-old daughter, Khaleeda, to SK Perempuan Methodist (Methodist Girls Primary School) in Anson Road for her transfer.
“We are from Yan (Kedah). My wife is a nurse at the Penang Hospital and following my recent transfer to Butterworth, we decided to move the whole family to Penang,” said Fadzlee, a technician with Telekom.
They transferred the eldest child, Izzul Iman, from SK Dulang Kecil in Yan to SK Francis Light in George Town earlier this morning before enrolling their daughter, Khaleeda, at MGS. The couple also brought along their third child, Iman Imtiyaz, aged five.
SK Perempuan Methodist principal Ng Kar Hoong said out of more than 600 pupils who started classes today, over 100 are in Year One.
“As per the Education Ministry’s guidance, the first week is a time for them to engage in various fun activities to boost their enthusiasm to attend school.
“Mostly importantly, the education emphasis is prioritising attitude over knowledge. We also want to nurture their talents, be it singing, drawing or sports. Who knows, they may even become internationally renowned artists,” Ng said.
The Education Ministry has announced that the new school season for 2025 will start in February and the 2026 school season will revert to starting in January, as it did in the pre-Covid days.
More than 1.44 million students in four states under Group A (Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu) started their school session yesterday, while schools in Group B states (Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Labuan and Federal Territory of Putrajaya) are starting theirs today. This brings the total number of students nationwide to about five million.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Law Suun Ting