KUALA LUMPUR: Beginning January next year, all private schools, colleges and training centres will be exempted from paying their education levies, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The Prime Minister said the exemption will apply across the board and include preschools, primary, secondary and vocational schools, higher education providers and training centres.
“This is the first time in history that the government is exempting the education levy for a full year.
“We have received numerous appeals from education and training institutions asking for relief from this payment,” he said in his keynote speech at the National Training Week 2025 summit here yesterday.
Also present at the event was Human Resources Minister Steven Sim.
The initiative, which will run from Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2026, will benefit 1,668 institutions and see the government forgo RM46mil in levies.
Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, said the move is aimed at allowing these institutions to fully focus on improving the quality of their training and education.
“Our children must be given the best training possible. The government will find the necessary mechanisms and funding to support this effort,” he said.
He also instructed the secretaries-general of both the Education Ministry and the Human Resources Ministry to closely monitor these institutions to ensure they are delivering top-tier training.
“On top of that, I urge them to also monitor high-profit private companies. They must be prepared to give back, even a little, to their workers,” Anwar said.
The exemption applies only to private institutions following the government’s move to expand the 6% service tax to private education services beginning July 2025.
