Education Minister peeved by leak of problem schools list

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Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid

KUCHING: The release of the locations of 402 schools identified as hotspots for disciplinary and drug problems by the Education Ministry as reported by The New Straits Times yesterday has drawn the ire of Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.

He was quoted by Sin Chew as saying that list should not have been leaked as it would draw unwanted attention and negative perception of the schools named.

Mahdzir said that a special committee headed by Deputy Education Minister Datuk Chong Sin Woon has been set up to help these schools deal with their problems.

According to The New Straits Times, it received the list from sources and which was verified by unnamed officials who revealed that the list was only supposed to be for the ministry and police’s internal use.

The schools in the list were divided into two categories: one for schools with disciplinary problems and the other for disciplinary problems involving drug use.

Out of the 402 schools listed, 10 are in Sarawak located in Kuching, Padawan, Bau, Sri Aman, Miri, Baram, Lawas, Simunjan, Samarahan and Bintulu.

Selangor was revealed to have the most problematic schools at 76, while second was Johor with 63 and Negri Sembilan, third with 40 schools.

In April, The Borneo Post reported that after a random urine test was carried out by the National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) Sarawak on 99 secondary students in four schools in Lawas, 23 of them tested positive for drugs.

Minister of Education, Science and Technological Research Dato Seri Michael Manyin was contacted on the matter, but had yet to reply as of press time.