TAMPIN: Students with serious disciplinary problems will undergo rehabilitation programs in prisons soon, as one of the Education Ministry's efforts to combat social illness at school.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, said that the program has been drafted and in the process to be completed before it can be officially introduced soon.
"To begin with, the program will involve a group of students who have been suspended for six months due to serious disciplinary problems including bullying. They will be sent to prison and Henry Gurney School within a certain period of time during the suspension, to see for themselves how the offenders are serving their sentence.
"Through the programme, we hope they will realise that what they do is wrong and determine to change themselves to become a better person," he said after opening the Tampin Umno delegation conference at Dewan Perdana here today.
Yesterday, Mahdzir said the ministry had identified four elements that led to the rise of bullying incidents among school students, which include food intake, environment, technology and cognitive factors.
On another note, Mahdzir said, the ministry is also planning to offer new course in train studies under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to prepare the country with more specialists in the rail industry.
"It's in line with the development of country's railway project, High Speed Rail (HSR) network which have been progressing well. We need more experts in this industry among the locals who will help to expand the industry here," he said.
Mahdzir said the ministry will collaborate with Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) to explore more on the rail-related courses at vocational colleges under his ministry, to be introduced in the future.
"We are expecting more rail services, including the High Speed Rail (HSR) in the future, so we need to provide skilled manpower in the industry as demand will increase," he said.
Mahdzir, who is also an Umno supreme council member, also said Umno and Barisan Nasional have been championing the country's education policy since it gained independence 60 years ago, which had benefited the country and the people, including the opposition.