Educationist I Lourdesamy told FMT it may be too premature to conclude that these students are weak.

Lourdesamy said the primary objective of Year 1 should not be so much the mastery of academic content, but rather learning to solve problems and building social skills.

The intervention programme might also create problems, as the pupils involved may face gaps in their learning when they return to their regular classes.

Educational sociologist Anuar Ahmad also contended that Year 1 is for children to learn 3R skills

“Why do they need ‘intervention’ when they just entered Year 1 to learn 3R skills?” he asked. “They actually have three years until Year 3 to master those skills.”

Anuar questioned the use of the terms “left behind” and “intervention” by education ministry officials.

He said that by international standards a child can only be ‘left behind’ in literacy and numeracy skills once they are 10 years old and above.

Earlier this month, education director-general Azman Adnan said a total of 122,062 Year 1 pupils have been identified as needing intervention in 3R skills.

He said 27.5% of the 448,113 Year 1 children are enrolled in a three-month intervention programme that started last month. Of the total number, 62,928 have not yet mastered both reading and arithmetic, 45,465 are struggling with reading, and 13,669 have difficulties with arithmetic.

Parent Action Group for Education Malaysia chair Noor Azimah Abdul Rahim told FMT that the primary school syllabus for Mathematics, Science, Malay and English contained too many topics within the subjects.

“The focus should be on delving into these topics while inculcating critical thinking and problem solving skills at the same time,“ she said.

However, Noor Azimah urged the education ministry to show the parents the programme’s timeframe and expected outcome.