GEORGE TOWN: With some schools already grappling with chronic teacher shortages, limited classroom capacity and inadequate resources, Penang MCA has raised concerns about a proposal to allow six-year-olds the option of entering Year One.
Its secretary, Yeoh Chin Kah (pic), said starting a new system without first resolving existing issues would only add to the strain on the education sector.
“If Year One classes include both six- and seven-year-old pupils, differences in learning abilities could make teaching more challenging and classrooms harder to manage,” he said in response to the implementation of the National Education Blueprint 2026–2035.
Yeoh also urged the government to reconsider the Year Four assessment introduced this year, describing it as an impulsive approach to education reform and unfair to primary school pupils.
“For Year Four pupils, it is a major examination imposed abruptly, without adequate notice. The government should give schools, teachers and parents sufficient transition time and clear explanations,” he said.
Yeoh said that reinstating UPSR in Year Six, with secondary school placement based on the results, would make the system clearer, fairer and more direction-orientated.
He added that the blueprint had also failed to explain how curriculum content and teaching depth would be enhanced to genuinely raise national education standards to match those of developed countries.
“Education policy is not an experiment. It cannot be based on momentary impulses.
“A wrong education decision can sacrifice the future of an entire generation,” he said.
It was earlier reported that children in Malaysia will begin preschool at the age of five and enter Year One at six starting in 2027.
Year Four pupils are set to sit for examinations administered by the Examinations Board this year, with a focus on four core subjects: Bahasa Melayu, English, Mathematics and Science.
