New school in the making: Fadhlina (third from right) getting an update at the project site of SJK(C) Regent Elmina in Shah Alam. — AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star
PM’s recommendation under consideration, says Fadhlina
SHAH ALAM: The first mode of Form Six schools will be the best place to carry out Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s suggestion for a relaxation in school rules, says Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.
“We now have three Sixth Form modes. Firstly, Form Six College where Form Six students are the only ones placed there.
“Secondly, sixth formers have a separate (school) block and the third mode sees them together with the mainstream (students) but we provide a lot of flexibility,” she said after launching SJK(C) Regent Elmina in Elmina, Shah Alam, yesterday.
She said currently, many schools were using the third mode, adding it was working on moving them to the first mode, meaning that all Sixth Forms would soon be located in Form Six Colleges.
Fadhlina said those in the Form Six college are given flexibility provided they stick to the dress code.
Last Saturday, Anwar suggested that Form Six should not be bound by school rules but instead be given some flexibility even if this was held on school premises.
He also suggested that the atmosphere of Form Six should be changed because it was actually like post-school matriculation.
Welcoming Anwar’s suggestion, Fadhlina said the ministry was already giving its utmost attention to Form Six, including the subjects, facilities and infrastructure, as these students were no longer in a school environment.
In 2011, then Deputy Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong had said that in addition to relaxing the dress code and forming Form Six Colleges, the existing terminal system for STPM assessments would be replaced by a modular one in 2012.
The modular system for STPM will be based on three semesters, whereby evaluation will occur at the end of each semester.
Fadhlina also said the ministry would also continue to focus on solving the problem of overcrowding in schools in Selangor.
On the launch yesterday, she said the school was expected to be completed in March 2025 with student intake starting in 2026.
On another matter, Fadhlina also brushed off allegations that Anwar’s comment to a Form Six student during a public forum last week was sexist, adding it was misunderstood.
During the event at a Negri Sembilan university, the student asked Anwar about his plans to tackle the ringgit’s falling value and whether Malaysia could become a first-class nation.
Anwar then responded by praising the student on how well she relayed her questions, saying that if he were younger, he would have asked the student for her phone number.
He had since come under heavy criticism, including from Muda deputy president Amira Aisya Abd Aziz and Bersatu’s Legal and Constitution bureau deputy chairman Sasha Lyna Abdul Latif, who labelled the remarks as sexist and inappropriate.
