KUALA TERENGGANU, MALAYSIA, June 25, 2015 (The Star): Only schools without any Hindu students and teachers are allowed to bring forward two out of four days from their Deepavali holidays, state Education director Shafruddin Ali Hussin said. “The recommendation does not apply to schools with Hindu students or teachers as they will still follow the gazetted holidays,” said Shafruddin.
He was commenting on the misunderstanding over a recommendation that schools in the state bring forward the gazetted holidays for Deepavali, which led to him being accused of being inconsiderate to Hindu students. This was following the department’s directive to bring forward Nov 11 and 12 (Deepavali holidays) to July 22 and 23 (to extend the Hari Raya break from June 17). “This means all schools in Terengganu will still get at least two days off to celebrate the Deepavali holidays on Nov 9 and 10, and schools with Hindu students and pupils will still get full four days holiday since they are not eligible to bring forward Nov 11 and 12 to extend Hari Raya break,” Shafruddin said.