The funds will be used to meet urgent needs, including the recruitment of 18,000 new teachers, as well as to support the government preschool capacity of 110,889 places
PETALING JAYA: The government is currently in discussions with the Finance Ministry to secure an additional RM800 million allocation to support Malaysia’s transition to enrolling children into Year One at the age of six, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told the Parliament today.
He described the move as a major national preparation that involves substantial expenditure.
“The funds will be used to meet urgent needs, including the recruitment of 18,000 new teachers, as well as to support the government preschool capacity of 110,889 places, covering institutions under Kemas, the relevant government departments, national integration preschools (JPNIN), and the Education Ministry (KPM).
“That is why this year’s Budget includes the proposed RM800 million additional allocation, to ensure immediate needs are met. The Education, Finance and Economy ministries have already taken the necessary steps to expedite this implementation,” he said.
Anwar also said Malaysia should not lag behind global education standards, highlighting that 137 countries, more than 71% of nations worldwide have implemented the policy of enrolling children into Year One at the age of six, based on UNESCO data.
“Therefore, we must not be left behind. The implementation will be carried out gradually to avoid causing shock or pressure on parents.
“For the 2027 academic session, children aged six will begin Year One between Feb 15 and March 31, while children aged five may optionally enrol in pre-school starting April 6, 2026.
“We deliberately describe this as an option because, at the early stage, we do not want parents to feel forced. Instead, we are providing a full year for preparation before children enter Year One,” he said.
To ensure the policy is implemented effectively, Anwar said the government is significantly expanding educational infrastructure across primary, secondary, vocational, matriculation and teacher training institutions (IPG).
He revealed that 10,514 preschool classrooms across 6,469 institutions have already undergone expansion, with an additional 150 classrooms completed in 2025 and 350 new preschool classrooms planned for 2026.
