MoE to push for compulsory secondary schooling in July to tackle dropout crisis
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said that the enforcement of the law is one of the measures taken to ensure that every child has the right to quality education up to the completion of secondary school.
After finalising the compulsory secondary education policy, we will look into the benefits of compulsory preschool education, she told a press conference after the Asean Education Ministers and Higher Education Ministers Roundtable Conference (#EduRoundtables2025) here, today.
The next Parliament session is scheduled to start from July 21 to August 28.
Under the Compulsory Primary Education Policy, every parent of a citizen residing in Malaysia must ensure that their child receives six years of compulsory primary education.
Fadhlina said that the ongoing education reform initiatives include the expansion of preschools, though several challenges remain, particularly in developing the necessary infrastructure, addressing logistics issues, and building the capacity of qualified teachers.
She said that competent and trained teachers are important to providing young children with early exposure and a strong educational foundation at the preschool stage, before they begin formal mainstream schooling, a key step in reducing school dropout rates caused by barriers to early access.
'So, before we implement the policy to make preschool compulsory, we must first prepare the ecosystem, infrastructure and teachers,' she said.
Earlier, Fadhlina delivered a welcoming address at the roundtable conference, which aims to strengthen regional cooperation in education, followed by a closed meeting of Asean education ministers.
The conference began yesterday with a forum themed 'Accelerating Innovative Strategies: Mitigating Out-of-School Children and Youth (OOSCY) Challenges', aimed at strengthening collective efforts through information sharing on groups that do not have access to education and are at risk of dropping out, as well as other issues related to dropout.
In addition to the participation of Asean member states, and Timor Leste as an observers, the Asean Education Forum was also joined by representatives from international organisations such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), the South-east Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) and the Islamic World Organisation for Research, Science and Culture (ICESCO).
This year, 2025, marks the fifth time Malaysia is holding the Asean Chairmanship, following previous terms in 1977, 1997, 2005, and 2015. — Bernama
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Focus Malaysia
14 minutes ago
- Focus Malaysia
Old video of an ‘overly emo' minister re-surfaces to mock Fadhlina Sidek's unsuitability to helm MOE
A BIG red bull's eye seems to have been painted on Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek's back. Targeted for her perceived mishandling of Zara Qairina Mahathir's tragic death and the Education Ministry's (MOE) weak response to bullying in schools, to say the Nibong Tebal MP is under pressure is putting it mildly. The nationwide anger is seemingly an opportune time for the opposition to pour scorn and ridicule the 47-year-old former activist and lawyer who specialises in Islamic family law and child welfare. The latest to join the fray is renegade UMNO supreme council member Isham Jalil who dug up a video of a parliamentary session from 2023. The video shows an almost hysterical Fadhlina retorting to a written question by Wee Ka Siong in a belligerent manner. Banging her fists on the lectern, she sounded more like an exasperated housewife berating a child rather than a learned cabinet minister answering legitimate questions in the hallowed halls of the Dewan Rakyat. Editor's note: The description provided by KiniTV to the clip states: 'Education Minister, Fadhlina Sidek did not give space for (Datuk Seri) Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) to interrupt to ask questions when winding up the Budget 2024 debate at the committee level for the MOE. During the debate earlier, Wee who is also the MCA president had questioned the inconsistent data provided by the MOE on the issue of teacher shortages. It may be old news but the timing couldn't be worse for the country's first female Education Minister as it just reinforces the perception that she is not cabinet material. Easily provoked This is more so as Isham who was also the former UMNO information chief sarcastically remarked on his Facebook page: 'Example of KBAT to kids on how not to answer a question (*not to be followed)'. Editor's Note: KBAT which stands for 'Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi' is a Malaysian educational framework focused on developing high-level thinking skills in school pupils. The post has already generated 8.1K likes, 3.8K comments and 912 shares at the time of writing which is an indication that – like it or no – the PKR women's wing chief is very much under the spotlight. Some commenters openly questioned her ability to carry such an important portfolio. It wasn't even a provocative query, observed one commenter. One commenter aimed a sarcastic barb at her being a 'PMX (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) sycophant'. The recent birthday message to PMX involving school kids chanting 'Happy Birthday, PMX' and 'We love you, PMX' also reinforces the view that she is nothing more than apple-polisher. Her fantastical outburst unfortunately led to claims that women were unsuited to such positions of power and authority. One commenter wondered just how Fadhlina was going to approach the issue of bullying in schools when a simple query in Parliament led to such an emotional tirade. It is not a good look for the Madani administration when the person in-charge of the education portfolio is being made to look incapable, emotionally unstable and foolish. It is certainly not great that calls for her to resign are getting increasingly louder and frequent by the day. – Aug 16, 2025.
Malay Mail
14 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
Kelantan expands anti-drug ‘jihad' after successful pilot, aims for 50pc reduction by 2030
KOTA BHARU, Aug 16 — The Kelantan government aims to reduce the state's drug addiction rate by 50 per cent by 2030 through the implementation of integrated 'jihad' programmes across the state. State Youth, Sports, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Community Unity Committee chairman Zamakshari Muhammad said the initiative will be expanded following the success of a pilot project in Pasir Mas, carried out in collaboration with the Royal Malaysia Police, the National Anti-Drug Agency, penghulu and mosque imams. 'Additionally, we will engage with several other agencies to further strengthen the integrated jihad against drugs,' he told Bernama after opening the Kelantan-level National Security and Unity town hall session at Dataran Muhammadi here yesterday. Zamakshari, who is also the chairman of the Kelantan branch of Malaysian Drug Prevention Association (Pemadam), stressed that the state government will not compromise on the issue and will continue to provide full cooperation to all authorities to eradicate drug problems from the grassroots. 'We don't just want to control the symptoms; we want to tackle the root causes of the problem to build a safer and more dignified state for future generations. Everyone must work together, because this issue knows no political party, religion, or race,' he said. — Bernama
Free Malaysia Today
18 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Hadi Awang's ‘problematic KL' remark slammed as ‘cheap shot'
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's remarks on Kuala Lumpur have drawn ridicule from some quarters. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's claim that Kuala Lumpur is 'problematic' because of DAP and its Pakatan Harapan allies has been labelled as a 'cheap shot' that fuels divisive narratives. Setiawangsa MP and former natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad noted that the remark had come from a senior leader of the opposition 'who has been absent from Parliament'. Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad. 'This is a different PAS from the Nik Aziz Nik Mat era. Malays already form the largest community in KL, yet PH remains dominant,' he said, in countering Hadi's claim that DAP and other PH components still harped on racial issues. 'PAS is still unable to make a breakthrough because many Malays in KL reject PAS,' he told FMT. On Wednesday, Hadi told the Dewan Rakyat that 'Kuala Lumpur is problematic due to DAP, PH and their friends. They only want to use the old playbook of playing the racial and political card.' Hadi has had a dismal record in meeting his obligation as MP and a leading member of the opposition. Data compiled by MyMP ( shows that he had attended only 33 out of 103 Parliament sessions held since July 26, 2021. MyMP is an initiative started in 2016 by the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights, and tracks the availability, loyalty, win rate and work ethic of MPs. When Nik Aziz was leading PAS as its spiritual leader the party was widely seen as more moderate, and politically inclusive rather than divisive on issues related to race and religion. Nik Aziz, who was Kelantan's menteri besar from 1990 to 2013, had a reputation for humility and for appealing even to non-Muslims. He passed away on Feb 12, 2015 at the age of 84, after years of battling prostate cancer. Azmi Hassan. Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said if he were an MP from PH or DAP, 'anything that comes from Hadi should not be taken seriously'. 'If you ask Hadi to break down what he means by 'problematic KL', it will be difficult for him to elaborate because he is just throwing out an idea, even if the idea is absurd,' Azmi told FMT. 'Perhaps that it is his modus operandi, to spew words without any justification and explanation.' Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said if Hadi believed there were weaknesses in city governance, he should propose alternative approaches. Awang Azman Pawi. 'Mere poetry does not bring improvement; the real path is through substantive discussion, proposals, and resolutions. As a religious preacher and leader, he should strengthen the values of moderation, justice, and unity,' he told FMT. He said a good narrative would not divide people, it should foster a spirit of constructiveness, inclusivity, and mutual respect.
