SIBU: The United Association of Chinese Primary Aided School Boards of Management Sibu and Kapit Divisions has urged the Education Ministry to reconsider the proposal to implement the “Combined Class Policy” for under-enrolled schools in the state.
Chairman of the association, Dato Tie Chee Ping yesterday made the call during a press conference here.
He said the implementation of the policy was inappropriate as it would affect the performances of the schools concerned.
“We had a meeting with the Parent-Teacher Associations of the schools concerned on December 30, 2017 and we oppose the implementation of the policy,” Tie added.
The implementation of the policy, he pointed out, would increase the workloads and burdens of teachers who had to teach two different classes within a specific time period.
“It is not fair to the teachers concerned and will shorten each lesson from 30 minutes to 15 minutes. The teachers will not be able to focus on all the pupils in the class and the pupils will lose interest in studying,” Tie said.
He added that parents had expressed their disappointment with the policy and many had decided to send their children to other schools so that their education would not suffer.
Tie also pointed out that the implementation of the policy would bring new challenges to teachers of rural schools with many Bumiputera pupils.
“This is because the teachers need more time to teach the Bumiputera pupils Mandarin,” he said. The United Association of Chinese Primary Aided School Boards of Management Sibu and Kapit Divisions covers 16 Chinese primary schools including four in Kanowit and two in Mukah.
