KUALA LUMPUR: A bill to amend the Education Act and make secondary schooling compulsory has been tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (July 28).
The Education (Amendment) Bill 2025 was presented for first reading in Parliament by Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh, who said the second and third readings are expected to be completed during the current session.
Under the proposed amendments, the bill seeks to revise the definition of “compulsory education” in the 1996 Education Act to include secondary schooling.
It also introduces a new provision - Section 32A - that empowers the education minister to designate secondary education as mandatory for all Malaysian children residing in the country.
Parents would be legally required to enrol their children in both primary and secondary institutions unless officially exempted.
The bill further stipulates penalties for non-compliance with the new provisions, and authorises the minister to make additional regulations related to enforcement and exemptions.
According to Wong, the legislation would also amend provisions related to the registration of children for primary schooling, requiring parents to enrol children by age six as of Jan 1 in any given academic year.
If passed, the changes would mark a significant expansion of Malaysia’s education mandate, though the bill notes that implementing the new measures will incur additional government expenditure, the exact amount of which has yet to be determined.
