Teachers and peer mentors handing out apples and stationery to students at SMK Sultan Ismail, Johor Baru as they arrive to start the new school year.
JOHOR BARU: The 2024-2025 school year has kicked off for students in four states under Group A, including Johor.
Education director-general Azman Adnan said more than 1.44 million students - from pre-school to Form Six - started their school session on Sunday (March 10), including 602,619 in Johor.
Group A comprises Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, while the states in Group B are Selangor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak and the three Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya.
“The 2024-2025 academic year for Group B states will start on Monday (March 11), bringing the total number of students nationwide to about five million.
“There will be no classes in the first week of the academic year. Instead, engagement activities will be conducted to introduce the students to the school environment and culture, giving them space to make new friends and get to know their teachers.
“This is in an effort to make it interesting for them to attend school,” Azman said after visiting SMK Sultan Ismail here with Johor education and information committee chairman Aznan Tamin on Sunday.
Students at the school arrived as early as 6.30am in anticipation of the new school year.
Teachers and "Pembimbing Rakan Sebaya” (peer mentors) also handed out apples and stationery to the students upon arrival as a motivational gift.
Meanwhile, in TERENGGANU, state Education director Jelani Sulong told Bernama that a total of 234,789 students from Year One to Form Five started the 2024/2025 school session on Sunday at 506 schools statewide.
"The students consist of 134,380 primary school students and 100,409 secondary school students," he said when met by reporters at SMK Serada in Kuala Terengganu.
In KELANTAN, state Education director Datuk Mohd Zamri Abdul Aziz said a total of 251,185 students began their new school session.
"As the school session begins amidst the prolonged hot and dry weather conditions, we advise all parties to be vigilant and take precautionary measures,” he said after visiting SK Ismail Petra 1, Kota Baru.
A Bernama check at SK Ismail Petra 1 found that students began arriving at the school as early as 7am and were greeted by animated character mascots such as BoiBoi Boy, Transformers, and Hello Kitty.
Meanwhile, in KEDAH, state Education director Ismail Othman said a total of 200,793 students in 548 primary schools and 153,918 students in 204 secondary schools started the academic session today.
"There are a total of 31,110 students enrolling in Year One and 31,090 students entering Form One and so far, the school sessions in Kedah have been running smoothly," he told Bernama when met at SMK Sultanah Bahiyah in Alor Setar.
Disabled Year One pupil Abdul Hakim Saifuddin Zulkifli (in toy car) on the first day of school at Kota Baru's SK Ismail Petra I. - Photo: Bernama
