Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture recently proposed to stagger school holidays across three main regions to boost tourism and reduce overcrowding at several hot spots.
The move received mixed reactions, with a teachers’ union opposing the “unusual” proposal, saying it could greatly disrupt the current comprehensive school system. The system goes through an annual review.
One possible area of disruption is national level programs.
“Public examinations for example Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and SIjil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) might be affected as examinations are not carried out if there is a public holiday in the respective state,” said Anuar Hussin, president at Peninsular Malaysia National Union of College Graduate Teachers.
The proposal involves dividing holidays into Malaysia’s regions, namely northern, southern and the east coast, reported the New Straits Times.
The move aims to ensure that the country’s tourism spots receive an equal and steady stream of visitors instead of the current congestion that occurs during school holidays.
Another concern is how it will disrupt family time for students.
“The staggered school holiday system will only make it difficult for family outings as parents and their children will have different holiday (periods) when the child is studying elsewhere,” said Jasni Md Kechik, president at West Malaysia Teachers’ Union. “This will put them in a spot to plan their outings.”
He explained that some children study at residential schools and institutions that may be in a different town from where their family home is. A change in scheduling may make it difficult for those parents.
“Malaysia is not like other big countries for example United States, Canada, Australia and China which have different time zones, different climate from one place to another,” he said.
“Travelling by land from Johor Baru to Kangar, Perlis only requires about 12 hours compared to United States where it takes days to travel from the west coast to the east coast.”
National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) president Kamarozaman Abd Razak suggested that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and the Ministry of Education conduct joint studies to identify the effectiveness of the proposal.