KUALA LUMPUR: Any cases related to the safety and welfare of students will be investigated promptly by the Education Ministry.
Its minister Fadhlina Sidek said every incident that happened at boarding schools including the case involving a student falling from the second floor of the building received prompt attention and action from the authorities.
“The matter was investigated thoroughly to ensure the source of the incident has been identified and improvement measures can be implemented.
“The safety and welfare of students will always be the priority of the ministry, and we will not compromise on the matter. The ministry will never delay any investigation that involves the safety of the students,” she said in a written Parliamentary reply on Oct 28.
Touching on the case, Fadhlina said a police report has been lodged and an investigation paper has been opened according to Section 31(1) of the Child Act 2001.
She added that the ministry has provided full cooperation throughout the investigation process.
“Following the matter, the principal, senior assistant for student affairs, and the head warden have been reassigned to the Sabak Bernam District Education Office (PPD), Selangor until the investigation is completed.
“The ministry has also conducted inspections and an internal investigation to review all aspects of compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOP).
At the same time, Fadhlina said a war room for the task force has been established and convened daily to monitor the pupils’ health developments, safety management aspects, disciplinary control, and risk communication.
She also said the school involved has also taken immediate corrective action regarding infrastructure and facility management aspects involving the pupils’ safety.
“According to the latest report, it was shared that the pupil concerned is recovering well and has been discharged from hospital, and is now at home,” she added.
Fadhlina also highlighted that the ministry has a clear mechanism to ensure a safe school environment, including through the Professional Circular Letter No. 4 of 2002: Implementation of the Safe School Programme.
Among the measures, she said is the formation of a Special Committee on Educational Institution Safety Reform comprising academic experts, government agencies, non-governmental organisations, and various stakeholders such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP), and universities.
The committee, which has met twice this year, was to discuss propose improvements to the Safe School Programme.
She added that the ministry has also conducted a safety audit involving 735 schools since Sept 19 until Sept 26, this year.
“These safety audits are carried out in all educational institutions, including fully residential schools, daily hostels and day schools, with a focus on compliance with safety standard operating procedures (SOPs) such as warden duty rosters, monitoring of complaint records, number of wardens, night-time lighting and closed-circuit television (CCTV).
“The ministry is also conducting surprise visits by senior ministry management, state education directors and district education office officers, including night visits to hostels, to assess compliance with established hostel SOPs,” she added.
Following the tabling of the Budget 2026, Fadhlina said the ministry has allocated RM3mil to install CCTVs in 200 hostels starting Oct 13.
“The placement of the CCTV cameras is based on advice from the Office of the Chief Government Security Officer,” she added.
