More preschools to be opened

KUALA LUMPUR: Several institutions under the purview of the Education Ministry will have preschools set up on its grounds for children as young as five years old.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said this would include all the vocational colleges, secondary schools (with available space) and all 27 Teacher Education Institutes (IPG).

She said more preschool classes were necessary to encourage Malaysians to enrol their children in. The government preschools are free of charge.

“In terms of quality, our preschool teachers are all graduates, and this is what we should share with the rakyat.

“(We want to) ensure that it becomes an option for B40 parents and the rakyat because the purpose of preschools is to overcome the issues of dropout, malnutrition and provide early interventions crucial for children’s development,” she told reporters after the Permata Youth Entrepreneurship Carnival Opening Ceremony yesterday

Fadhlina said the ministry is focusing on increasing the number of preschools this year, besides strengthening the school curriculum.

She said the expansion plans are being arranged by the ministry to ensure the new classes will be added as early as next week, coinciding with the start of the 2024/2025 academic year.

An additional 129 preschools would be added this year, an increase from 119 in 2023, she said.

This will bring the total to 9,909 classes in 6,000 institutions with more than 200,000 pupils enrolled nationwide, she added.

When tabling Budget 2024, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had said that early childhood education will continue to be given attention.

Fadhlina said the ministry has also mobilised a special task force to reform the nation’s education in six key areas, with one specifically targeting preschool education.

The five other areas were aimed to strengthen and enhance digital education, technical and vocational education and training; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; curriculum alignment; and Upholding the Malay Language and Strengthening Command of English policy.

On a separate matter, Fadhlina said the ministry has taken various steps to overcome the issue of early teacher retirement such as lessening the burden of teachers and providing better support, particularly in managing mental stress.

On Feb 29, Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh told the Dewan Rakyat that a total of 6,394 teachers, or 1.49% of the overall workforce, were allowed to take early retirement last year, a slight increase compared to 2022, which was 5,306 or 1.23% of the total workforce.

During the opening ceremony of the carnival, Fadhlina said the programme was essential for spreading entrepreneurial knowledge, primarily to the B40 community.

The carnival, held annually at the People’s Housing Programme communities around Kuala Lumpur, aims to assist B40 teenagers in fulfilling their needs, particularly in education, while also honing their communication skills, fostering responsibility, leadership qualities, and helping them refine their talents.