Total Year 1 registrations for the 2027 school session stood at 478,419 pupils, comprising 73,386 sixyear-old applicants and 405,033 seven-year-old pupils.
PETALING JAYA: Teacher recruitment for next year has been drastically scaled back after Year 1 registrations for the 2027 school session came in far below government projections, with only 73,386 six-year-olds signing up against an anticipated 400,000.
Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh said the low school registration, which is just 18% of the original estimate, had prompted the ministry to revise its contract teacher target from as many as 20,000 to 3,150.
“This special intake will not replace the professional teaching pathway which remains the ministry’s main long-term plan.”
He said total Year 1 registrations for the 2027 school session stood at 478,419 pupils, comprising 73,386 sixyear-old applicants and 405,033 seven-year-old pupils.
He added that the ministry is completing 2,596 new classrooms using the industrialised building system modular method at 838 schools nationwide, with construction expected to be finished this year.
Wong said it is also optimising the existing space in schools and is prepared to implement doublesession schooling where necessary to manage the additional intake.
He said the ministry is processing 4,417 reserve candidates from the Education Service Commission for the July and December 2025 intakes, with 2,633 expected to receive appointment letters soon.
Wong was replying to Jalaluddin Alias (BN-Jelebu), who asked about the ministry’s preparations for the intake of six-year-old pupils into Year 1 next year and measures to ensure that teachers are not overburdened.
Under the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2026–2035, launched on Jan 20, preschool education will begin at age five, while Year 1 will begin at age six from next year. The early entry into Year 1 is voluntary.
