KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 (Bernama) -- School canteens are permitted to remain open during Ramadan, to allow non-Muslim students to enjoy their meals comfortably, said Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek.

"I don't want non-Muslim children to eat in store rooms and inappropriate places when all schools have canteens.

We (the ministry) recommend that canteens stay open throughout Ramadan, particularly for schools with non-Muslim students," she said when winding up the debate on the motion of thanks for the Royal Address for the Education Ministry (MOE) in the Dewan Rakyat today.

In her speech, Fadhlina also refuted claims that vernacular schools deviate from the syllabus set by the Education Ministry.

She said though vernacular schools are set up to preserve the mother tongue of the Chinese and Indian communities, they are not permitted to employ different teaching syllabi.

"None of these schools are deviating from the official curriculum provided by the MOE," she said.

Fadhlina also said that the MOE is actively working on developing a new Malaysian Education Development Plan (PPPM) that will shape the education system in Malaysia for the next ten years.

"There are four phases in preparing the new education plan, which are a detailed analysis of the achievement of the current plan, hold engagement sessions involving industry players, outstanding teachers and faculty deans to gather input, focused group planning and public dialogues and gather feedback until the education plan gets approved by the ministerial council," she said.

Meanwhile, she said the analysis of the country's performance in the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) found that one of the main issues that must be addressed is the performance gap between urban and rural students.

The analysis also revealed that the level of assistance and support offered by teachers to students in Malaysia during online teaching and learning sessions, prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, was significantly higher compared to that provided in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries.

-- BERNAMA