School Academic Calendar Revision: Here's What You Need to Know

The Education Ministry yesterday released the revised 2020 School Academic Calendar, to mitigate months of unexpected school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With school for students taking their major examinations in the upper secondary levels already having started yesterday, this is some quick facts parents and teachers need to know, moving forward, in case you missed the news.

• The mid-term break for the second school term have been shortened to five days (from Aug 20 to 24), from the original nine days.
• The year-end holidays have been considerably shortened to less than two weeks. For schools in group A (Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu) the leave is now just 14 days (from Dec 18 to Dec 31), compared to 42 day-breaks in the previous years.
• For schools in group B (Perlis, Penang, Perak, The Federal Territories, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Sabah, and Sarawak), the break will now be 13 days long (Dec 19 to Dec 31) - down from the previous 41 days.

With this, the number of days for face-to-face schooling based on the amendment are 56 days in Group A and 55 days in Group B. However, this only applies for those in Form Five and Six, while for the other levels, it would be updated as and when they resume school.

You can view the amended 2020 school academic calendar here.

Students sitting for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Sijil Vokasional Malaysia (SVM), Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM), and Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (STAM), as well as students sitting for international examinations of the same level, started school yesterday.

All other levels are still under home-based learning, until further notice.

The Education Ministry has previously said that strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will be followed when schools reopen, amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

These include students, teachers and school staff, practising social distancing, wearing face masks (if necessary), as well as frequently washing hands and using hand sanitisers.

All activities, except sports, face-to-face co-curriculum activities and large gatherings of students and teachers, including the school assembly, will be barred.

The COVID-19 outbreak has thus far infected 8,590 people in Malaysia, and killed 121.