KAJANG: The number of Chinese primary school pupils is decreasing by 20,000 each year, says Datuk Dr. Mah Hang Soon, Deputy Education Minister.

This year, the total number of Chinese primary school pupils dropped below 500,000 for the first time, he said.

The decline in the number of pupils studying in Chinese primary schools is caused by mushrooming of private and international schools offering better quality education, he said.

Chinese primary schools should take the decline in student number as well as parents’ expectations in quality education seriously, he said after launching the opening of SJKC Bandar Kajang 2 on Thursday.

He said of the 1,302 Chinese primary schools in the country, 616 or 47.6% were classified as underpopulated schools.

There were 20 schools with fewer than ten pupils.

He said a meeting would be held on September 6 to compile information on underpopulated schools.

This would be the first meeting called by the underpopulated Chinese primary school working committee to embark on long-term planning for such schools.