IPOH: More than 1,200 students in Perak could drop out of school this year, says Khairudin Abu Hanipah.
The state Education, Higher Education, Youth and Sports Committee chairman said 1,254 students had been flagged as being at risk, comprising 231 primary school pupils and 1,023 secondary school students.
He said 743 students had already left school this year, including 72 from primary schools and 565 from secondary schools.
Out of this, 133 students, 17 in primary and 116 in secondary, have returned to continue their studies, he said at the Perak state assembly sitting here today (Sept 10).
He was replying to Mohamad Amin Roslan, who asked about the number of students who had resumed studies following intervention, broken down by district, school level and cause.
Khairudin said the main reason for students dropping out was a lack of interest in studies, which accounted for 334 cases, followed by expulsions (230) and students leaving school to work (86).
He said the State Education Department had put in place several initiatives to curb dropouts, including the Red Flag Risiko Cicir system, which detects students at risk early and enables timely intervention.
With the support of Yayasan Perak, the Red Flag Risiko Cicir system has helped raise student attendance statewide, from 90.22% in 2023 to 91.29% in 2024, and 92.69% as of the end of Aug this year, he said.
He added that the State Education Department also conducts attendance-focused performance dialogues with district education offices and schools with low turnout to strengthen management and improve student attendance rates.
