PM Anwar: Form Six students to be treated as post-secondary learners and get same aid as other students.
PUTRAJAYA: Form Six students should be recognised as a distinct pre-university cohort rather than being treated as part of the regular secondary school system, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.
He said schools must recognise Form Six students as post-secondary learners preparing for university and provide an environment that reflects their academic status.
“Even if they are in the same school compound, Form Six students should have their own space and identity. They should not be treated as part of the lower and upper secondary school population.
“They are in post-secondary education and preparing for university, and the environment should reflect that,” he said during the Education Ministry’s monthly assembly.
Anwar said schools should, where possible, provide separate blocks and dedicated management for Form Six students to reinforce their identity as a pre-university pathway.
He added that Form Six would remain under the Education Ministry for the time being, despite ongoing discussions on strengthening its role as a pre-university programme.
Anwar said that although Form Six should be recognised as post-secondary education, moving it out of the ministry would require significant changes to existing systems and administrative structures.
“For the time being, Form Six will remain under the Education Ministry because this is the most practical arrangement.
“We can review the system again in the coming years if necessary,” he said.
Meanwhile, Anwar announced that Form Six students would receive the same government assistance provided to other school students, ending their exclusion from several education aid schemes.
He said more than 30,000 Form Six students would benefit from the decision following repeated feedback that they had been left out despite remaining within the national education system.
“Every time I met Form Six students, they told me they had been left out.
“We have discussed the matter, and we have decided that students from Form One to Form Six in government and government-aided schools will receive the same assistance,” he said.
Anwar also announced that preschool education would be incorporated into the national education framework to ensure more consistent standards nationwide.
He said special education, including schools for autistic students and programmes for pupils with special educational needs, would continue to receive greater attention.
The Education Ministry, he added, would work closely with the Finance Ministry to ensure funding for key initiatives and schools nationwide is not overlooked.
