KUALA LUMPUR: Progress in reducing the number of Year One pupils struggling with basic reading, writing and arithmetic (3M) skills has slowed sharply, says Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh (pic).
He said 48,636 Year One pupils had yet to master the three basic skills last year, down from 49,677 in 2024.
This was a reduction of only 1,041, much lower than the 27,085 recorded between 2023 and 2024, when the number fell from 76,762 to 49,677, he added.
Wong said the Education Ministry introduced a targeted Year One intervention programme in 2024 to identify pupils requiring additional support in mastering basic literacy and numeracy skills.
"Before the programme was implemented, a total of 76,762 Year One pupils were identified in 2023 as having yet to master the basic 3M skills.
"Following the implementation of targeted interventions beginning in 2024, the number declined to 49,677 pupils and fell further to 48,636 in 2025," he said during Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Oct 28).
Datuk Mohd Kurniawan Naim Moktar (BN-Kinabatangan) had asked about the ministry's strategic plans to address long-term educational exclusion among pupils experiencing multidimensional hardcore poverty.
Despite the slower reduction in the number of Year One pupils struggling with basic skills, Wong said Malaysia had made encouraging progress in narrowing educational achievement gaps at the secondary school level.
He said the proportion of rural candidates qualifying for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) certificate increased to 92.9% last year, compared with 92.31% in 2024.
He said the gap in average SPM grades between urban and rural schools had also narrowed by 32.79% compared with 2012.
Wong said the gender gap among candidates qualifying for the SPM certificate had similarly narrowed.
"In 2024, the gender gap in the proportion of candidates qualifying for the certificate stood at 5.95%.
"However, this declined to 5.32% in 2025," he said.
