KUALA LUMPUR: The new school term for next year will only begin on Jan 20, 2021.
Senior Education Minister Dr Radzi Jidin said this was to make up for the 2020 year-end school break which would be cut short, as well as the delay in the year-end examinations due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Movement Control Order (MCO).
"I would like to announce to this House that the opening of the first term of the school year for 2021 for all schools nationwide will be on Wednesday, Jan 20," he told the Dewan Rakyat today.
"The 2021 school year has to be delayed because examinations and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations have also been postponed," he informed.
In June, the Education Ministry announced that the SPM, Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM), Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM) and Sijil Vokasional Malaysia (SVM) examinations would be postponed to the first week of 2021.
Form Five students who will sit for the SPM will do so from Jan 6 to Feb 9 next year instead of the previously scheduled dates of Nov 16 until Dec 7 this year.
Schools nationwide are set to end its term this year on Dec 18, except for states that have Fridays and Saturdays as their weekends as the latter will have their holidays ending on Dec 17.
The year-end break has been significantly reduced from 42 days in Johor, Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah as well as 41 days in other states, to 14 and 13 days, respectively.
In his winding-up speech of the royal address, Radzi said the ministry's decision to reduce the period of school holidays was inevitable as online learning, although it helped students a lot, was not as effective as face-to-face learning.
"Students will face difficulties in grasping the minimum understanding of a subject. It will affect students' interest and motivation to continue learning. The students' relationship with schools, too, will be affected if they are away for too long.
"(We are worried) that if students don't understand what they were supposed to learn last year (2020), then come March (2021), the students may lose their motivation because they feel they have missed out too much (of their education)," he said.
Thus, Radzi said the ministry will ensure students get sufficient time for face-to-face learning sessions to prepare them for next year's syllabus.