SHAH ALAM, Jan 18 — Selangor is strengthening early intervention measures to address school dropouts by focusing on families’ socio-economic factors.
State executive councillor for women empowerment and social welfare Anfaal Saari said late-stage interventions, particularly those carried out close to the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations, have been found to be less effective and risk students dropping out altogether.
“Among the key initiatives is the implementation of the Selangor People's Tuition Programme (PTRS), driven by Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated), or MBI.
“In addition, the state government works closely with the Selangor Education Department to identify students who show attendance problems as early as the beginning of the school year,” she told Media Selangor.
Anfaal added that economic factors as well as teaching and learning methods that are less engaging or unsuitable at school have been identified as among the main causes of student dropouts.
“We need to understand that education is very closely linked to socio-economic conditions. Therefore, the state’s approach is not to blame students, but to examine the real reasons why they are not attending school,” she said.
The councillor noted that assistance must be targeted to individual cases, particularly for low-income families forced to work long hours, including students who also work to support their families.
“In my own area (the Taman Templer state constituency), there are parents who have to work more than one job. There are even students who work on their own, such as becoming food delivery riders or working in shops.
"Cases like these need to be identified and jointly assisted by state assemblymen and school administrators,” Anfaal said.
Previously, the Education Ministry (MOE) said it would strengthen the implementation of existing policies through various contextual interventions to address the issue of student dropouts.
Its minister Fadhlina Sidek said that out of 5,153,093 pupils in MOE schools, 1,496 dropped out at the primary level, involving 1,275 Bumiputera pupils and 221 non-Bumiputera pupils.
At the secondary level, 25,626 students dropped out, comprising 19,347 Bumiputera students and 6,279 non-Bumiputera students.
