KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry will draft a law on early childhood education to ensure comprehensive and effective regulation of the sector, in line with plans to make preschool mandatory under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), says Fadhlina Sidek (pic).
The Education Minister said the move would complement the introduction of the 2026 Preschool Curriculum, which is based on the 2027 School Curriculum Framework.
“The national preschool curriculum will be made compulsory for all early childhood education institutions, with emphasis on human dignity, character building, critical thinking and life skills,” she told the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Aug 20) while winding up debates on the 13MP for her ministry.
She said the new curriculum aims to instil confidence, compassion, resilience and social values in children through age-appropriate experiential learning.
The enforcement of the Education Act 1996 (Act 550) will also be strengthened to support the policy shift, she said.
Last month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that preschool education would be made compulsory from age five as part of the government’s education reforms.
Fadhlina said the ministry is also expanding access by adding 134 new preschool classes in 2024 and a further 150 in 2025, bringing the total number to 10,175 classes nationwide compared with 10,043 last year.
As of June, 129 new classes have already opened at various institutions, including secondary schools, vocational colleges and teacher training institutes.
“For 2026, the ministry targets an additional 250 classes. We are fully optimising available space across all ministry assets to close the gap and ensure that no child, especially from B40 households, is left behind,” she said.
Fadhlina stressed that advocacy and parental awareness are equally crucial in strengthening preschool participation, adding that engagement sessions with stakeholders are being conducted widely to shape policies that reflect current education priorities.
