PETALING JAYA: It’s not every day you get your school exercise book checked by the Education Minister himself. But a student had this privileged today during a visit by Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid to SMK Taman Medan Jaya.

Nurul Sabryna Aniesha Zainol Anuar, a Form Four Bakti student was left in awe after he spent time going through her exercise book and signing it.

Mahdzir later posted pictures of the exercise book on his Facebook page and said that it reminded him of his days as a teacher during his tenure in Sabah.

“During a working visit to SMK Taman Medan, Petaling jaya, I managed to check the answers in the exercise book of Nurul Sabryna Aniesha Zainol Anuar of Form Four Bakti.

He spent time checking Nurul’s answers in her Islamic studies exercise book and left a remark at the bottom of the page.

It read “Telah disemak oleh YB Menteri Pedidikan,” or loosely translated as ‘Checked by Education Minister’.

Mahdzir’s posting has since gone viral with many netizens praising his efforts and saying that Nurul was a lucky girl.

A Facebook user by the name of A’ahmad Jamili urged Nurul to treasure the book as this was probably the first time an Education Minister had spent time checking a student’s exercise book.

He also congratulated Mahdzir for willing to understand the plight of teachers at the grass roots level. Others called for Mahdzir to visit their schools as well.

Earlier, Mahdzir visited the school as part of his working visit and was briefed on the condition of the school and its infrastructure.

He also spent time inspecting the building and areas of the school which required repairs. This is not the first time Mahdzir personally got himself involved in classroom activities.

In Oct last year, he spent half an hour teaching Geography at SMK Seri Ampang in Alor Star.

He was an education officer in Sabah from 1984 till 1990. He was then appointed as the principal of SMK Gadong, Beaufort, Sabah from 1990 to 1993.-nst