SHAH ALAM: The Ministry of Education (MOE) held a meeting with the parents of two players in the Melaka Under-14 (U14) girls volleyball squad, who were slapped by their coach yesterday.

Education Minister, Fadhlina Sidek, said that the meeting was aimed at getting feedback from the parents of the students involved in the incident.

"We (MOE) have met the students' parents to get feedback and we will not tolerate violence, especially against our students.

"We are very concerned about this issue, and our priority is the safety and well-being of the students," she told reporters after observing the opening of the third session of the school for the year 2022-2023 at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Jalan Kebun, today.

She said that the feedback received from parents and other stakeholders will be looked at as a whole, and the investigation will continue, especially matters closely related to integrity and discipline.

Fadhlina said that the MOE, through the Melaka Education Department, had also conducted counselling sessions for the two girls.

Meanwhile, when asked if the MOE will lodge a police report on the issue, Fadhlina said that the ministry could carry out an investigation through the integrity and discipline department.

"We are still investigating; we don't have to wait for the police report. We can investigate because we have an integrity and discipline department," she said.

Previously a video, showing a coach of a volleyball team slapping two of his teen players, went viral on social media. The incident is believed to have happened during the 2022 Malaysia Youth U-14 Volleyball Championship in Kota Tinggi, Johor, which was held from Dec 14 to 16 last year.

In another development, when asked about the need to add government preschools and kindergartens in urban areas, as they are said to be unable to meet the current needs, Fadhlina said that her ministry was looking into the matter.

She said that she, together with the MOE secretary-general and Education director-general, had discussed the matter and saw that there was a need to increase the facility, and that the policy closely related to the matter would be expedited.

Commenting on the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the prevention of COVID-19 in schools following the detection of two major variants from China in Malaysia, Fadhlina said that her ministry would refer to and comply with the latest instructions from the Ministry of Health.

In another development, Fadlina said that schools were also given the flexibility whether to allow their students to wear neckties or not, as the matter is under the school's purview.

She said this when asked about the matter, following the Dewan Rakyat now relaxing the use of neckties.

-- BERNAMA