PETALING JAYA: The education ministry has barred the use of workbooks for teaching and learning in primary schools, saying they can only be used as reference and revision material outside school hours.
A circular sighted by FMT also said the number of exercise books for each subject must be limited to two while only the activity books published by the ministry can be used as teaching aid in class.
Although it did not give any reason, teachers said the move is linked to reducing the weight of schoolbags, which is being debated in the media.
“Textbooks should be used as the main reference in teaching concepts as the ministry has published quality books that are of relevance.
“The activity books that come with the textbooks are teaching and learning materials to support the text books,” education director-general Nor Zamani Abdol Hamid said.
She has directed state education authorities to ensure that all schools adhere strictly to this directive which replaces a 2017 revised circular on the matter.
In 2017, the ministry had allowed only one workbook each for Bahasa Malaysia, English, Chinese, Tamil, Mathematics and Science after an outcry from parents and education groups.
They alleged that students were being overloaded with workbooks which they had to buy from the school bookshops. School heads were then accused of getting a “cut” from book dealers, which was then used for school maintenance, among others.
Nor Zamani said the latest decision was made by the ministry’s senior managers at a meeting last month.
A senior headmaster contacted by FMT said schools had already bought the workbooks as they were included in the booklist before school reopened last month.
“The circular was issued only in the last week of March. So we are now saddled with the problem of how best to use them because workbooks are effective in teaching,” he said.
“If the ministry says students can only use them after school hours, then we have to use them for homework. However, this means they have to bring them to school and must be carried in their school bags.”
As for exercise books, he said certain subjects need more than two as they are used for different aspects of the subject for easy and effective reference, especially in languages.
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