SHAH ALAM - The Education Ministry (MoE) says that the construction of Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Cyberjaya (2) is expected to be completed in 2028 to deal with student overcrowding issue.
MoE Education Policy Planning and Research Division Assistant Director Dr Wan Noor Azhar Wan Sulaiman said the application for the new construction of the school had been approved in the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMKe) RP3 (year 2023).
"The latest status of this project is in the procurement process. This new school will be equipped with 36 classrooms and other facilities according to the concept of design and construction to speed up the construction process," he said in Wacana 434th edition entitled "It's 2024, Is Overcrowded Classes Still an Issue?" on Wednesday.
It was reported that SK Cyberjaya had 13 classes for Year One students with 50 people in each classroom.
The issue led to education experts voicing their concern that if the problem of overcrowded classrooms in this country was not addressed immediately, it would cause the quality, motivation and focus of students to continue to decline while teachers lose focus.
The programme hosted by Ismail Adnan also featured two more panellists namely Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Education Faculty Study of Diversity in Education Centre senior lecturer Dr Anuar Ahmad and retired teacher Dr Murni Hussin which was broadcast live on all Sinar Harian social media platforms.
Wan Noor Azhar added that MoE also took proactive measures to overcome the issue of overcrowding at the school in question such as dispersing Year One students to six nearby schools such as; SK Taman Putra Perdana, SK Taman Putra Perdana 2, SK Dengkil, SK Desa Pinggiran Putra, SK Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi and SK Kota Warisan.
He said that MoE also built a cabin containing 12 additional classrooms to accommodate the density at SK Cyberjaya.
"Dispersing students at SK Cyberjaya is a step that has indeed been taken every year since 2021,” he said adding that the school had been the parent’s choice for several years.
Based on information from the Selangor State Education Department, he said there were parents who insisted that their children be placed in the school even though there were no spots left.