KUCHING: The Education Ministry is looking into ways to empower the state education departments and district education offices (PPDs) around the country.
Its minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said the decentralisation of powers is part of the effort by the ministry to restructure all 142 offices nationwide.
Mahdzir said the ministry wanted to do away with the present centralisation system by allowing state education departments and PPDs to act swiftly and decisively.
“This issue have been the talk among people in the education community for many years.
“Now, we are looking into ways to empower the state education departments and PPDs.
“If we can ways to do it properly, it will enable the departments and PPDs to solve issues pertaining schools and students at their level.
“For example, if there is a case of students bitten by a snake at a school under their respective territories, they can proceed with addressing the issue without referring to the ministry,” he told reporters during the opening of National Education Management for PPDs conference here today.
The ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Khair Mohamad and state Education Department director Rakayah Madon were present.
Mahdzir also said he hoped that all PPDs could effectively perform their duty in communicating the ministry’s vision and aspiration to the local community with the decentralisation of powers.
On the proposed merger of Sekolah Kurang Murid or schools with low enrolment, Mahdzir said process to gauge feedbacks from parents of children at the affected schools is ongoing.
“It will not be an easy task. As I had said previously, we can only push ahead with the merger if we get the nod from parents at the affected schools,” he said.