Confronting school dropout rates

Improving conditions: Ahmad Zahid (centre, top) posing for a photo with members of the Penang Regional Development Authority at the monthly assembly of the Rural and Regional Development Ministry. — Bernama

PUTRAJAYA: Counselling for parents, cash assistance for families and monitoring workplaces are among strategies that the government is using to bring down the dropout rate among secondary school students.

It is hoped that these efforts will help children stay in school and at least obtain their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) certificate, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.