KUALA LUMPUR: Students will not have the Monday blues, now that there is a module to make school assemblies more engaging.

The 10-minute assembly module, developed by a group of lecturers and students, would ensure fun times with activities such as arts and crafts, and special projects.

“There can be a physics project where students put different types of objects into a balloon.

“They then shake it and listen to the type of noise each object makes,” said Fatin Nuratikah Ahmad Shu­haimi, one of the students from Institute of Teacher Education (IPG) Kampus Ilmu Khas, Cheras, who was involved in drawing up the module.

“Normally, it’s teachers who handle the entire 30-minute assembly but with this module, students can take over for 10 minutes.

“Assemblies are known to be boring for students but now they have the chance to lead,” she said.

She added it could be positive for students to see their friends performing in front of the school.

Module team leader and IPG Kampus Ilmu Khas communications lecturer Norani Abd Rahim said their intention was to change the perception about assemblies and make it attractive for students.

She said the 10-minute assembly module was adopted by 253 schools when it was introduced in 2017.

There had been positive feedback from about 30 schools in the first six months of its implementation, with some of them reporting a decrease in truancy rates, she said.

“We hope more schools will adopt it as it adds colour to assemblies,” Norani added.

She said there were 42 activities under the module, for all subjects from Science to Music, involving Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), school-based assessments and values.

“It will hone students’ leadership and communication skills, their ability to think critically and build up their courage to speak in front of a crowd,” she said after attending the institute’s 60th anniversary celebrations yesterday.

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik, who was present, said, “Every school is free to explore its own creativity in implementing the weekly assembly.”

Although the module would not be made compulsory for schools, he hoped that teachers would embrace it “as I found it creative, innovative and unconventional.

“We need fresher ideas and unconventional approaches to education,” he added.