Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon said this was due to complaints from parents that the list of workbooks for the next year was usually given out at the end of the year.

“I told the ministry to look into this since the issue has long existed, especially in national-type schools.

“The use of workbooks during teaching is not right since the ministry’s textbooks are sufficient,” he told a press conference here today.

He said the use of several workbooks did not comply with the ministry’s circular and was unsuitable for the Malaysian Education Development Plan, which emphasises Higher Thinking Skills (KBAT) among students.

“For second-level students (Year Four to Six), only one textbook is allowed for each subject, namely Malay Language, English Language, Mathematics and Science, Chinese Language and Tamil Language.”

Chong said the selection of workbooks should be done by the subjects committees, who would recommend the most suitable workbooks in terms of content, quality and price.

“The purchase of workbooks are only a suggestion and parents can still choose not to buy them because there is no compulsion,” he added.