School holidays will be cut short this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) said the decision was made to help schools better plan lessons that have been disrupted due to the stay at home period.

Malay Mail, quoting a statement by the ministry said that the mid-term break will now only be five days, instead of nine.

The changes affect schools categorised as Group A (Johor, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu) and Group B (Melaka, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Penang, Sabah, Sarawak, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya).

Holiday period shortened

Meanwhile, the statement said the Year-end term break for Group A will also be reduced to 14 days from 42 days, while for Group B, the break will be reduced to 13 days from 41 days.

That means the school year for 2020 will now have a total of 168 days.

Schools officially reopened today for students who are taking examinations such as SPM, SVM, STPM and STAM.