40 to 50 students per class: Government strives to build more new schools

The government is working to increase the construction of new schools, with 44 schools set to be built this year to meet demand and address the issue of overcrowded classrooms, especially in urban areas.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek stated that the ministry remains fully attentive to the issue of overcrowded schools to ensure that students can learn in a conducive environment.

She reassured parents that the ministry is actively addressing the matter.

“That is why, year after year, we see the construction of new schools to ensure that children in identified overcrowded school areas can be placed in other (newly built) schools.

“This is because we want to ensure that our children have a conducive learning environment.

“At the same time, we also seek the cooperation of parents to discuss with the Ministry of Education and the District Education Office (PPD) to resolve overcrowding issues. However, based on ongoing projections, we have taken full attention to this matter, and it is actively being addressed,” she said.

She was responding to viral concerns from parents, particularly in urban schools, who claimed that there were between 40 and 50 students per class.

The overcrowding has raised concerns that teachers may struggle to provide focused teaching and that students could lose concentration due to the large number of pupils.

Earlier, Fadhlina, who is also the Member of Parliament for Nibong Tebal, was met at the Penang PKR Chinese New Year Open House at Dewan Chong Kuang, Sungai Bakap, today.

Further elaborating, Fadhlina assured that the issue of overcrowded schools will be addressed more effectively.

Based on the Ministry of Education’s budget over the past five years, the government built 11 new schools in 2021, nine schools each in 2022 and 2023, 26 schools in 2024, and 44 schools this year.

The data indicates that in the last two years, the government has made efforts to increase the construction of new schools to meet demand and address overcrowding, especially in urban areas.