Ministry continues to bridge gap between urban, rural schools - Mahdzir

Efforts to bridge the gap between urban and rural education continue to be the Education Ministry's focus, said its minister, Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.

He said in ensuring the quality of education, focus should be given, among others, to the number of teachers, option teachers and students' enrolment, as well as the physical structure of the school.

Most schools in the rural areas did not have hostel and as a result many students had to walk to school, he said at a 'Sirih Pulang ke Gagang' programme in conjunction with his visit to Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Beluran here Saturday.

Mahdzir, who used to teach at SMK Beluran, said among schools in need of a hostel is SMK Simpangan in Paitan, while SK Sungai-Sungai already had a hostel, but was now in a dilapidated condition.

In terms of academic achievement, he said the gap in the achievement between rural and urban students in the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah was 0.72 per cent. -- BERNAMA