Ex-teachers pooh-pooh single-session schools plan

Chances are then education minister Najib Abdul Razak's 1990s vision of a single-school session for the country's education system by 2010 may remain a pipe dream, according to educationists.

These former unionists describe the vision as an impossible dream for the lack of land in urban areas taking into account the rising figures of school-going children.

Former National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) national executive member James Gonzales said, "It is impossible for Najib's one-school-session vision to materialise in urban areas as land scarcity cannot keep pace with the growing student population.

"How is the government going to change the estimated 4,000 schools with double sessions located in urban areas into one-school sessions? Where is the land for such mammoth building projects?" he asked.

On Dec 22, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris pro-chancellor Abdul Rahman Arshad had called for the change from a double-session system to a single-session to reflect the expected developed status of the country.

Rahman, a former director-general of education had stated that the double-session schools were created 50 years ago to accommodate the introduction of secondary school education in the Malay medium which was now outmoded and not practical.

Vision 20 years too late

To this, James said, "This single-school session should have been started 20 years ago when there was ample urban land. This proposed change can only occur in rural areas, and in reality may take another 25 years or more," he said.

James lamented that sports and games have suffered under the present system for lack of fields and also such activities clashing between the morning and afternoon sessions.

James, who was also the former NUTP Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory secretary, recalls the single session days when school population studied in the morning and took to sports field in the afternoons.

But with the introduction of the double session, sports a became a luxury and suffered as a result.

According to him, this has led to the drop in sports standards as studies took on greater importance.

Former NUTP deputy secretary-general S Sundralingam (left) concurred with James, saying that it is "not possible to have one session schools now due to the swelling of the student population and building schools now will cost the Education Ministry a bomb".

"Many urban schools in Penang, Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and other major towns in the country are all stuck with the same problem of lack land for expansion.