KOTA KINABALU: The Education Ministry must put in place a structured and planned implementation to ensure the success of six-year-old children entering Primary One next year, says Likas assemblyman Tham Yun Fook.
He said Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh's disclosure that only 73,386 (or 18.35%) applications were received from six-year-old children for the 2027 Year 1 intake was far below the Ministry’s original projection of 400,000 pupils.
“The figures also show that the overwhelming majority of parents still prefer to enrol their children in primary school at the age of seven,” he said.
Tham said this also reflected a lack of public confidence in and acceptance of the six-year-old admission programme.
“Such a significant disparity clearly indicates that the proposal to allow six-year-old children to enter Year 1 was introduced without thorough planning and without adequately assessing the readiness of parents, students, and the nation’s education system,” said Tham, a former senior state education officer turned politician.
He said the Ministry initially projected the need for up to 20,000 additional teachers to support the policy, but has now reduced the recruitment target to only 3,150 Contract of Service (COS) teachers.
“This raises serious questions regarding the accuracy of the data, forecasting methods, and decision-making process used in formulating this policy,” the Parti Warisan assemblyman said in a statement Thursday (June 25).
He said it was sad that aspiring teachers had been affected by the change as they hoped to get employment based on the projections and plans announced by the Education Ministry.
“Education policies shape the future of our children and our nation. Therefore, any major reform should not be implemented hastily or based on assumptions that have not been properly validated,” he said.
He urged the Ministry to ensure every policy is supported by comprehensive impact assessments, extensive stakeholder engagement, and a well-structured implementation plan before it is rolled out.
He hoped that the Education Ministry would explain the reasons for the “huge gap between projected and actual enrolment figures”.
