Penang sees 5% increase in Year One enrolment

Fun activity: Teacher Nur Asyikin Mohamad conducting an interaction session with her students on the first day of school at SM Haji Ahmad Badawi. —ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star

KEPALA BATAS: The number of seven-year-olds going to school for the first time in Penang this year is up nearly 5% from last year.

State Education Department director Abdul Said Hussain said the enrolment for the 2024-2025 academic session of Year One pupils was 21,053, compared to 20,828 in the previous year.

“This year, Year One pupils registered for the current school session at 270 primary schools in the state,” he said during a press conference after visiting SM Haji Ahmad Badawi on Monday.

He said that in total, there were 117,585 primary school pupils from Year One to Year Six registered for the 2024-2025 academic year.

For secondary schools, a total of 100,301 students began their schooling year yesterday in the state.

According to Abdul Said, 21,034 of them were in Form One.

He added there would be no academic lessons during the first week of school, with all school sessions filled with fun activities that will benefit the students.

On a separate matter, Abdul Said said the state Education Department would collaborate with the state government and district officers to address truancy issues among students in Penang.

He said truancy issues usually involve students transitioning from primary to secondary school. Fortunately, truancy cases in Penang are not a severe matter, according to him.

SM Haji Ahmad Badawi principal Adnan Idris accompanied Abdul Said earlier on his visit to the school.

Adnan was at the main entrance of his school welcoming the students from 7am.

For students leaving primary school and entering secondary school for the first time, there were no back-to-school blues, and just like Muhammad Ishami Rosani, 13, many were up before the crack of dawn to put on their brand new secondary school uniforms.

“I woke up really early and performed my morning prayers so I wouldn’t be late for school,” he said.

Muhammad Ishami, who has a brother who just finished his SPM at the same school, said he wanted to do well as a secondary school student and make his parents proud.

Form One student Syifa Hazirah Hurairi, 13, said she could not wait to learn new things at secondary school and wanted to do her best in all her examinations during her time at SM Haji Ahmad Badawi.

The youngest child in her family said she was happy to enter Form One and has set her sights on becoming an engineer.

“I feel this school is the right place for me to be the best,” she said.