He said the installation of these lockers will be done in stages and involve 626 schools nationwide for students in Year One and Year Two.

It is one of seven initiatives by the ministry to deal with the issue of heavy school bags, he added.

“In Gombak alone, we have 38 two-session schools which will receive these lockers.

“Up till now, lockers have been installed in five schools. All schools selected will be fitted with lockers before the end of this month.

“We have asked the supplier to install it as soon as possible.

“If there is an increase, we will complete it in the second phase,” he said after handing over the lockers for the first phase to Sekolah Kebangsaan Gombak Setia here.

Previously, the ministry had announced seven initiatives to address the issue of heavy school bags, including implementing timetable reorganisation, limiting the number of practical books and using the teaching and learning platform approach.

To ensure the heavy bag issue does not crop up again, Radzi said his team would ask the school inspectorate to monitor the situation to ensure that the seven initiatives were adhered to as best as possible.

He also urged parents and teachers to cooperate to ensure students receive the benefits of these initiatives.