Deputy education minister Wong Kah Woh said that creating such posts would involve designing a new recruitment structure and consulting the relevant federal agencies.

“At the moment, the education ministry adopts the ‘in loco parentis’ approach, which is still relevant and suitable for the current needs,” he said in response to Wan Saiful Wan Jan (PN-Tasek Gelugor).

Wan Saiful had asked whether the ministry planned to make school wardens a specific role in schools that require them.

Currently, wardens are appointed from among teachers under the “in loco parentis” (in the place of a parent) approach, on grounds that they are familiar with students’ needs and trained for the role.

Wan Saiful also asked if the education ministry planned to appoint or expand the role of student management assistants to take on the role of wardens, and whether there was a timeline for creating a dedicated warden position.

Wong said the ministry began hiring non-teacher wardens in 2019.

He said as of Sept 30, a total of 10,214 wardens had been appointed, including 9,428 teachers and 786 non-teachers.