January 22, 2026
World
World
TOKYO, Jan 22 — Japan has halted the restart of the world’s largest nuclear power plant just hours after it began, though the reactor remains “stable,” the operator said.
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek has revealed that more than 27,000 primary and secondary students have dropped out of public schools, with Bumiputera students making up the majority of the cases.
In a written parliamentary reply to Batu Gajah MP Sivakumar Varatharaju (DAP), Fadhlina said that, out of 5,153,093 pupils enrolled in public schools, 1,496 had left at the primary level — comprising 1,275 Bumiputera and 221 non-Bumiputera students.
At the secondary level, 25,626 students had dropped out, of which 19,347 were Bumiputera and 6,279 were non-Bumiputera. She did not specify the timeframe of the data.
Fadhlina explained that her ministry is addressing the dropout issue through a needs-based approach that transcends ethnicity and location, describing it as a “contextual” intervention model.
“This approach is not solely based on ethnicity or geographical factors, but on ensuring equitable access to education, prioritising students who need the most assistance regardless of their background,” she said.
Among the initiatives is the Zero Student Drop Out pilot programme, aimed at identifying the reasons students leave school.
The dropout rate among secondary students remains a concern, though the government says retention programmes have helped reduce the numbers in 2024 — albeit slightly.
In February, Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh told the Dewan Rakyat that last year’s dropout rate stood at 0.06 per cent for primary schools (1,595 students) and 0.64 per cent for secondary schools (11,412 students).
In 2020, the figures were higher, at 0.10 per cent for primary and 1.13 per cent for secondary schools. Wong credited the decline to initiatives such as the Comprehensive Special Model Schools (K9 and K11), which provide quality, inclusive education, particularly for students in rural and remote areas.
Currently, there are 28 K9 schools and two K11 schools, with plans to open seven more K9 institutions.
