Early Year 1 enrolment will hit kindy enrolment, says MP

Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden joins calls for the government to defer implementation of the new policy, planned for next year.

Alor Setar MP Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden expressed fears that private preschools could lose up to half of their pupil intake through the early Year 1 enrolment.

KUALA LUMPUR:

 A PAS MP has warned that allowing six-year-olds to enrol for Year 1 from next year could have far-reaching implications on preschools in the country, especially privately-run kindergartens.

Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden (PN-Alor Setar) said private preschools could lose up to half of their pupil intake through this policy, as six-year-olds would skip a whole year in kindergarten.

“Such a shift would significantly reduce the revenue streams of private preschool operators. From an industry perspective, this could mean a loss of nearly half of their income,” he said in debating the king’s speech in the Dewan Rakyat today.

The PAS Youth chief said there were about 9,100 private kindergartens nationwide, which meant the policy could put thousands of teachers at risk of job insecurity and potential retrenchment.

While expressing support for education reforms in principle, Afnan said introducing abrupt changes without comprehensive studies would be irresponsible.

“We are not rejecting reform, but we reject reforms that are rushed and poorly planned.

“Is the government ready to address the fallout? Where would the teachers go when they lose their jobs, and what concrete measures are in place to safeguard their welfare?” he asked.

Afnan joined calls for the government to defer the implementation of the policy, which is scheduled for next year, to allow for an in-depth and holistic study to be held first.

Former education minister Radzi Jidin (PN-Putrajaya) had called for the early Year 1 enrolment to be deferred to assess the capacities of teachers, classrooms and other facilities to handle the larger intake expected. - FMT