The Ministry of Education reports key achievements, including compulsory secondary education, teacher recruitment, and infrastructure projects
BUKIT MERTAJAM: The Ministry of Education has recorded several major achievements over the past three years in implementing education reforms.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the reforms include enforcing compulsory secondary education, reducing educators’ workload, and constructing and rehabilitating schools nationwide.
She said the implementation of these education reforms will continue to be strengthened.
The ministry will focus next year on preparing teachers for the rollout of the 2027 school curriculum.
The curriculum will be implemented in stages, beginning in 2026 at the preschool level, followed by Year One and Form One in 2027.
Fadhlina said the MOE’s ongoing commitment to reducing teachers’ workload will enable educators to focus fully on teaching and learning.
“We want teachers to be able to concentrate in the classroom, enhance the PdP quality, and carry out reforms in their teaching practices,” she said.
Among the ministry’s most significant achievements was the approval of the Education (Amendment) Bill 2025 in Parliament.
This made secondary education compulsory up to Form Five.
With the amendments, every Malaysian child is now legally protected to remain in the education system until completing secondary school.
Fadhlina said the MOE also succeeded in recruiting 52,948 new teachers, achieving a filling rate of 98%.
This is the highest rate in almost a decade, ensuring nearly all classes nationwide have adequate teaching staff.
In terms of school safety, she said the MOE is implementing 11 safe schools initiatives nationwide.
This includes an allocation of RM5 million for installing closed-circuit television cameras.
The ministry also appointed 10,096 new teachers and counsellors, and 600 assistant dormitory wardens.
Commenting on post-pandemic recovery, she said the national school calendar will resume its January start beginning with the 2026 academic session.
This follows four years of disrupted schedules and aligns with the needs of parents and teachers.
The literacy and numeracy intervention programme has also shown positive results.
A total of 398,496 students successfully mastered basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills, an increase from 326,051 students before the intervention.
In efforts to reduce the burden on teachers, Fadhlina said the MOE is implementing task reforms.
These include appointing 562 assistant teachers and placing 600 assistant wardens under the MySTEP initiative.
Operational support is also being provided in 281 secondary schools, with improvements to the Daily Lesson Plan.
The construction and rehabilitation of educational infrastructure have recorded strong progress.
A total of 44 new schools have been built and 44 dilapidated school projects completed by 2025.
Efforts to expand early childhood education have also been strengthened.
This is done by extending MOE preschools to national secondary schools, vocational colleges and Institutes of Teacher Education.
The expansion increases access to early education in urban, rural and remote areas.
Commenting on initiatives to address school dropouts in remote areas, she said the expansion of K9 and K11 schools has succeeded.
These efforts have achieved a zero dropout rate, with students remaining in school until they complete secondary education. – Bernama
