MELAKA: A total of 2,473 six-year-old pupils have voluntarily registered for Year One intake for the 2027 school session, the Melaka legislative assembly was told Wednesday (April 29).
State education, higher education and religious affairs committee chairman Datuk Rahmad Mariman said the figure was based on records collected between Feb 15 and the end of March.
"At the same time, a total of 13,063 seven-year-old pupils have been registered for Year One for the 2027 session, bringing the overall number of Year One pupils in the state to 15,541 next year,” he said on Wednesday.
He added that several approaches have been outlined to accommodate the increase in pupil numbers, including reusing classrooms, constructing additional classes, redistributing pupils to nearby schools and implementing a dual-session schooling system.
Rahmad said these forward-looking measures are aimed at ensuring the education system remains competitive and aligned with other countries, noting that the initiative is based on voluntary participation by parents.
He said among the measures taken by the Melaka Education Department was placing pupils in nearby schools within a 5km radius if a school could not accommodate additional enrolment.
"Upgrading works and adding classrooms using the Industrialised Building System method are also being planned to ensure education facilities can be provided efficiently,” he said.
Rahmad added that the final step would be to implement a two-session school system if all other measures fail to resolve capacity issues, although it has not been necessary so far.
He also said the Education Ministry expects to recruit 20,000 new teachers nationwide who will begin service in 2027 to address teacher shortages arising from the growing number of Year One pupils.
