KUALA LUMPUR: Students in Kedah, Terengganu, and Kelantan returned to school Sunday (Feb 16) for the 2025/26 academic year.
In KEDAH, 349,966 students from 752 schools began the school session comprising 200,574 primary school pupils and 149,392 secondary school students.
State Education director Ismail Othman said the figure included 29,934 Year One pupils and 30,194 Form One students.
This morning, a check at SK Bukit Genting near Pendang found students happy to get reacquainted with their friends after a long holiday.
In TERENGGANU, 256,869 students, including 149,314 primary pupils and 107,555 secondary students, returned to school.
Terengganu Education Department director Jelani Sulong said Year One pupils increased to 23,254 this time from 22,126 in the 2024/25 academic session.
"Alhamdulillah, all students could start their learning sessions at 506 schools, which are fully equipped with facilities.
"For the first week, no teaching and learning (PdP) activities will be conducted; only orientation or introduction sessions will take place to ensure students' smooth adjustment to the school environment," he said while observing the first day of school at SJK Cina Chong Hwa Wakaf Tapai.
He added that early schooling aid (BAP) totalling RM36,224,100 was distributed to 241,494 students from Year One to Form Five across the state during the recent school holidays, while the distribution for Form Six and Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia students will be done this month.
Meanwhile, Deputy director of the Planning and Management Sector of the KELANTAN Education Department, Mat Lazim Mohamad, said 259,048 students from 595 schools have started their 2025/26 school session.
He said the number includes 22 schools back in operation after last year's floods.
Zulfakri Ismail, 45, said he arrived at SK Sultan Ismail 1 in Kota Bharu at 6.30am to accompany his seven-year-old son on his first day of school.
Zulfakri said his son had been excited to go to school since the night before and had reminded him to wake up early.
"Alhamdulillah, this morning my son was the first Year One student to arrive and received a token from the school," he said
Meanwhile, schools in the state have been advised to ensure that students take precautions during the upcoming monsoon transition next month to prevent any health complications.
Mat Lazim said this includes encouraging students to wear face masks and drink enough water.
"Kelantan is expected to experience hot weather when the monsoon transition occurs, so we encourage schools to take early steps to address this issue," he added. – Bernama
