Water safety a priority for ministry

LEARNING swimming isn’t enough to prevent drowning and water-related accidents.To keep our children safe, the Education Ministry’s new Life-Saving Skills Programme and Water Safety and Rescue Awareness Module for Malaysian Schools was introduced recently.

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik told StarEdu the new programme and module launched in Hulu Langat three months ago, was aimed at reducing drowning cases at home, work, and near any body of water.

It will also increase students’ water safety knowledge, skills and experience, prevent untoward incidents in water, and teach them rescue and life saving skills in water.

Lauding the ministry’s initiative, Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie) chairman Mak Chee Kin said everyone - be it teachers, parents or children, should know about places that are dangerous and the actions that could put them at risk.

The programme and module, he said, are more practical than learning swimming in schools and hotels because we are lacking both the facilities and trained teachers. He, however, said students who had access to pools, should still learn to swim. National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Harry Tan said any programme or module that keeps our students safe from the dangers of water, is welcomed.

“Our country is always inundated by floods and swollen rivers. And, there’s an abundance of disused mining pools.

“In the peninsula, three sides of the land face the sea, and both Sabah and Sarawak have long coastlines.

“So yes, water safety is important and should be incorporated into the school programme just like fire drills, as safety concerns everyone.”

He said teachers need not be life guards but they should know basic water safety.

“For example, water conducts electricity. We can’t see it but we must know the dangers of swimming when there’s lightning.

“We must at least know how to save ourselves, and those under our care, but teachers need professional help and advice to make sure that we’re doing the right thing.” Last November, Dr Maszlee told Parliament it was vital to teach children water safety and life-saving techniques as more than 100 drowning cases occur every year, especially during holidays and monsoon seasons.

He said it took the ministry several months to come out with the programme and module.

Explaining his call for hotels and private clubs to allow schools to use their pools for swimming lessons and to learn water life-saving skills, he clarified that it was merely a suggestion.

There’s no compulsion to participate in the programme, but they can do so voluntarily as part of their corporate social responsibility initiative.

It was the first time such a programme was being introduced as part of the extracurricular activities in schools. Such programmes have been implemented in several countries, including Singapore and Britain, he had said.

The goal was to make the programme a school subject and that in 20 years’ time, our children will not only be able to swim but also save lives.