JERANTUT: Teachers are opposed against the Tourism and Culture ministry’s proposal to have staggered school holidays in a move to boost tourism as well as reduce congestion at tourism hot spots.
West Malaysia Teachers’ Union president Jasni Md Kechik described the proposal as being unusual and said that it could jeopardise the current school system which is comprehensively planned, annually.
“The proposal could make it difficult for parents whose children are studying at fully residential schools (SBP), Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) and SBP Integrasi in other towns, the exception being if their children are studying nearby.
“Malaysia is not like other big countries for example United States, Canada, Australia and China which have different time zones, different climate from one place to another.
“Travelling by land from Johor Baru to Kangar, Perlis only requires about 12 hours compared to United States where it takes days to travel from the west coast to the east coast.
“The staggered school holiday system will only make it difficult for family outings as parents and their children will have different holiday (periods) when the child is studying elsewhere and this will put them in a spot to plan their outings,” he said.
Jasni was commenting on Tourism and Culture deputy minister Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik’s suggestion for staggered school holidays in March, June and September.
Baktiar said the ministry was looking into dividing the staggered school holidays into regions, namely northern, southern and the east coast – so that schools in these three different regions would have breaks on different weeks.
He said the move will allow tourism spots to receive an equal and steady stream of visitors compared to now where it becomes too congested during the school holidays.
Peninsular Malaysia National Union of College Graduate Teachers President (KKGLMSM) Anuar Hussin said the proposal will affect the school system, sports activities and various programmes at national level.
“The Malaysia Schools Sports Council (MSSM) has a packed sports calendar which had been arranged according to the current school holiday system. Public examinations for example Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and SIjil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) might be affected as the examinations are not carried out if there is a public holiday in the respective state,” he said.