PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL DROPOUT RATES DECREASE OVERALL - MOE

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 (Bernama) -- The overall student dropout rate in both primary and secondary schools has decreased from 21,748 in 2020 to 13,007 last year.

Deputy Minister of Education Wong Kah Woh reported that of this total, 2,873 students, comprising 883 primary pupils and 1,990 secondary students, successfully returned to school last year.

"In 2020, the primary school dropout rate was 0.10 percent or 2,437 students, while in 2024, it dropped to 0.06 percent or 1,595 students.

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"Similarly, in secondary schools, the dropout rate was 1.13 percent in 2020, affecting 19,311 students, but it decreased to 0.64 percent or 11,412 students in 2024," he stated during the question-and-answer session in Dewan Rakyat today.

He was addressing a supplementary question from Datuk Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PN-Rantau Panjang), who inquired about the total number of students who have dropped out at all levels and whether the government plans to expand the Comprehensive Model School 9 (K9) and Comprehensive Model School 11 (K11) to address the issue.

Wong noted that there are currently 28 K9 schools and two K11 schools, located in Betau, Pahang, and Long Bedian, Sarawak.

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"This year, the Ministry of Education (MOE) plans to add another seven K9 schools. Their names will be finalised soon," he said.

"At the same time, MOE is evaluating the feasibility of converting some existing K9 schools into K11 schools as part of our efforts to address the dropout issue," he added.

In response to a separate question on the issue of e-cigarettes or vaping among school students, Wong reported an increase in the use of e-cigarettes, with 0.39 percent of the total student population, or 19,450 individuals, recorded last year based on data from the Student Character Development System.

"There has been a decline in cigarette smoking, with 3,704 students, or 0.07 percent of the total student population, reported in 2024," he added.

"MOE has taken action against the involved students based on existing guidelines and circulars," Wong explained in response to an additional question from Roslan Hashim (PN-Kulim Bandar Baharu) regarding the current statistics on vaping among students.

-- BERNAMA