January
> Preschool curriculum
Cabinet decided that the curriculum for preschools would be coordinated by the Education Ministry so that it can be streamlined. The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia would look into the curriculum involving religious education.
February
> Zaini Ujang returns
The Higher Education Ministry appointed Datuk Seri Dr Zaini Ujang as its secretary-general for the second time. The former Human Resources Ministry secretary-general previously held the portfolio in 2015.
New appointment: Zaini Ujang. — Filepic
> Deferment for JPA scholars
Malaysian students on the Public Service Department (JPA) scholarship were allowed to defer returning to the country by up to three years. The deferment was to allow students to pursue employment and necessary skills while being abroad.
> New DG
Former deputy director-general (School Operations Sector) Azman Adnan replaced Datuk Pkharuddin Ghazali as Education director-general.
DG duties: Azman unveiling the Education Ministry’s curriculum interventions in September. — Filepic
> Victory for vernacular schools
Chinese and Tamil schools are here to stay. The Federal Court rejected an application by two non-governmental organisations seeking leave to appeal against an earlier ruling that the use of Chinese and Tamil languages in these schools is constitutional.
March
> School starts
Some five million students nationwide began their 2024/2025 school session. The 2025 session will start in February 2025 to allow school sessions to begin in January for 2026. Students are no longer required to wear school uniforms throughout the week. The school attire consists of two days of school uniform, two days of sportswear and one day of co-curricular attire.
> 3M skills
A literacy and numeracy detection assessment will be conducted for Year One pupils to identify those who have not mastered the 3M skills – reading, writing and counting, the Education Ministry announced. This was to allow these pupils to receive intervention early as the assessment would be conducted within three months of the beginning of this academic year.
April
> American academic slammed
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir ordered that all planned programmes and activities involving Portland State University political science professor Bruce Gilley be cancelled after the American academic claimed that Malaysia had pushed for a “second Holocaust against the Jewish people” during a keynote address at Universiti Malaya (UM).
May
> DLP
Schools now have the prerogative to decide which students are eligible for the Dual Language Programme (DLP). The Education Ministry said while there is no provision in the DLP guidelines requiring schools to conduct assessments, they have the autonomy to determine the best methods for managing the DLP to decide which students are eligible for these classes.
Learning in English: Students flipping through the DLP Science and Mathematics books. — Filepic
> SPM results
Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2023 candidates achieved better scores compared to the previous year. Fewer of them also did not show up for the national exams, thanks to having two years of fully face-to-face schooling since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The National Average Grade (GPN) improved by 0.14 points to 4.60.
National pride: SK Putrajaya Presint 11(1) teacher Mohd Saharudin Setapa and headmistress Norzah Mohd Kassim (third and fourth from left, respectively) at the AHS regional awards ceremony.
June
> Matriculation for top scorers
All students who scored 10As and above in the SPM exams will get a placement for higher education at the matriculation level regardless of race or background, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced.
July
> STPM results
Out of the 1,116 candidates who scored a 4.00 cumulative grade point average (CGPA) in the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) 2023, 803 (71.2%) came from poor households. Overall, 1,116 (2.7%) of the STPM 2023 candidates scored a perfect 4.00 CGPA, the highest in the exams’ 41-year history.
> Fundraising
The Cabinet decided it would consider allowing vernacular schools to receive funds through its board of directors and foundations, including from activities involving alcohol brands. The stand has been the practice of several administrations without dispute, the Education Ministry said in a statement. However, activities involving alcohol brands must not include Muslim students. The statement was issued in response to the furore involving a charity concert and dinner held at SJK(C) Tche Min in Sungai Pelek, Sepang, Selangor, on July 14.
> Healthiest school
SK Putrajaya Presint 11(1) was named the “healthiest” among more than 2,000 primary and secondary schools across the region to bag the grand prize of US$100,000 (RM470,746). The primary school in Putrajaya was crowned champion at the AIA Healthiest Schools (AHS) regional awards ceremony in Bali, Indonesia, for its innovative Helpie health mobile application. The app was designed to improve students’ mental well-being by offering tools for stress identification and management, as well as fun games and health campaigns.
August
> Wait over
A total of 1,193 top SPM students who scored 10As in the 2023 exams received text messages from the Education Ministry to inform them that they have been accepted into the matriculation programme. When the first round of the 2024/25 matriculation admissions for 3,000 non-Bumiputera spots was announced on June 20, these students did not receive an offer.
September
> Anak Kita
A collaboration between the Education and Finance Ministries, the RM100mil intervention programme to help over 83,000 students who were falling behind in school or have dropped out, was launched in Rasa, Selangor. Based on data and key objectives, three intervention sub-programmes were developed to tackle specific challenges in primary and secondary schools, targeting 3,458 schools involving 83,752 students.
No one left behind: Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek (far left) and Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan (second left) at the Anak Kita programme launch at SK Rasa. — Filepic
> SK Convent Klang turns 100
SK Convent (1) Klang celebrated its 100th anniversary with a centenary fundraising gala dinner. Funds raised will enable works to prevent flash floods and to replace electrical wiring for the primary school as well as SMK Convent Klang, its sister institution.
> Olympian graduates
National women’s doubles shuttler Thinaah Muralitharan, 26, graduated with a Bachelor of Education (Teaching English as a Second Language) from Open University Malaysia (OUM). She was also conferred the Special University Award Sports Icon during the varsity’s 28th convocation at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur.
Proud moment: Thinaah graduating with a Bachelor of Education (TESL). — Filepic
October
> Abused children rescued
More than 300 children previously under the care of Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISB) started attending special classes conducted by the Education Ministry. The children were given formal education after a police operation saw the rescue of hundreds of children and teenagers aged between one and 17 from GISB-owned care homes. GISB had reportedly been abusing women and children for several years under the guise of running childcare shelters.
> Budget 2025
The federal education system received the lion’s share under the third Madani Budget with RM64.1bil allocated for the Education Ministry and RM18bil for the Higher Education Ministry for a total of RM82.1bil. This is a whopping 19.5% of next year’s national budget of RM421bil. The amount is also an increase from last year’s allocation of RM75bil.
> THE world rankings
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) is Asean’s top private university and the first Malaysian institution to break into the top 250 universities, according to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings.
> Tax waiver for UTAR
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) was granted an RM83mil tax waiver for educational purposes. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the waiver aligns with the government’s broader policy of supporting non-profit educational institutions, as long as their activities are clearly separated from commercial interests. While Anwar, acting in his capacity as Finance Minister, had already granted tax exemptions and cancelled fines, MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said the core issue remains unresolved as the Treasury made clear that the not-for-profit university is to start paying taxes beginning Year of Assessment 2024. He urged the government to provide permanent tax exemption status for UTAR and the UTAR Education Foundation, which owns and operates UTAR. Dr Wee also called for the indefinite continuation of the matching grant allocation for Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT), a government commitment established since the institution’s founding.
> Boy genius
Twelve-year-old prodigy Izz Imil Shahrom registered as an undergraduate at the UM Faculty of Science after undergoing an interview process with a special committee. His application to enrol in the Bachelor of Science in Mathematics programme at the country’s oldest varsity was approved by its senate.
November
> Commonwealth’s best
Liew Erynn, 13, and Evangeline Khoo Ke Ying, 15, won the Junior and Senior categories of the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) 2024, earning them invites to a special awards ceremony hosted by Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace. Their entries stood out among the record-breaking 34,939 submissions from across the Commonwealth regions in the competition hosted by the Royal Commonwealth Society of the United Kingdom.
Royal nod: Queen Camilla (centre) with (from left) Junior Runner-up Victor Austin Kiyaga, Erynn, Senior Runner-up Cristabelle Yeo and Evangeline at Buckingham Palace. – Reuters
> UM still on top
UM remained the country’s top university, according to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings: Asia (QS-AUR) 2024. Malaysia’s premier university sits in 12th place out of 984 universities in Asia, third in South-East Asia, and first in Malaysia. This round, 65% of Malaysian universities moved up the rankings, more than any other country or territory. In June, the country’s first and oldest varsity soared to 60th spot in the QS World University Rankings 2025, making it one of South-East Asia’s top three institutions.
Welcome to UM: UM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Dr Noor Azuan Abu Osman (far left) and Zambry (fourth left) with Izz (centre) and his parents Imil Shahrom (far right) and Ilyah Abdul Aziz (second left).
> Professorship for PM
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was appointed honorary professor at Tsinghua University in Shanghai in recognition of the outstanding contributions he has made to the development of Malaysia and the international community, as well as his significant global influence in the political, economic and cultural fields.
> PLKN 3.0
Applications for the first 200 trainees in the pilot batch of the National Service Training Programme (PLKN) 3.0 began for Malaysians aged between 18 and 20. Involving the Defence and Education Ministries, PLKN 3.0 would be formal in its training with a three-phase ecosystem approach – pre-PLKN, basic training and specialised training – which would balance traditional military-style training with contemporary civic education. The pre-PLKN phase will be for Form Four students in national schools and conducted as part of their co-curricular activities. The basic and specialised training phases for youth aged 18 and over would involve school-leavers and tertiary students. The specialised training phase is open to those aged between 17 and 35, and will include intensive field and practical segments.
> Bullying
Five cadet officers from the Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) Military Training Academy, who were involved in three bullying cases, were expelled from the university. The cases included pressing a hot iron onto the victim’s chest, subjecting the victim to various forms of misconduct, including corrective punishment, physical abuse, forced personal tasks, isolation and physical assault, resulting in the victim sustaining a lower back injury due to trauma. The perpetrators were also ordered to pay compensation to the government and were charged in court under Section 324 of the Penal Code.
> Food poisoning
An SPM training camp turned disastrous for 22 SMK Guntong students when they came down with food poisoning after having breakfast at a resort in Kuala Terengganu. In June, pupils and teachers from 30 primary schools gathered in Gombak, Selangor, for a religious event at which fried noodles and eggs were served – 82 people fell ill due to food poisoning and two died.
December
> SPM 2024 starts
The SPM 2024 examinations began on Dec 2 amid floods in Kelantan, Terengganu, Perak, Johor, Perlis and Kedah, and will continue until Feb 6 next year. A total of 402,956 candidates registered to sit for the SPM 2024 examinations at 3,337 examination centres nationwide.
> ‘The Story of TARCians’ (TSOT)
A 76-minute docudrama about the birth of Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC) and the challenges faced by its founders was screened in cinemas nationwide. Directed by award-winning director Mark Lee See Teck, TSOT – the first to be produced by a local higher education institution – was launched on Oct 11, 2023, with filming beginning on Jan 15. It has grossed over RM500,000 since its release on Dec 5.
Thumbs up: TSOT executive producer and TAR UMT president Prof Datuk Dr Lee Sze Wei (left) and Mark at the gala premiere of the docudrama in Kuala Lumpur. — LOW LAY PHON/The Star
> TIMSS results
Losing out on two years of face-to-face learning caused Malaysia’s performance to drop in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2023 assessment. The average Mathematics score of Malaysian students dropped to 411, compared to 461 in TIMSS 2019. A total of 126 students achieved the highest international benchmark level with an average score of 625 points and above. As for Science, the average score of students is 426, a decrease of 39 points from 465 in 2019. A total of 104 students achieved the highest benchmark level with an average score of 625 points and above.
To safety: A total of 189 SMK Rantau Panjang and SK Gual Tinggi students, who will be sitting for the SPM exams, being taken to a hostel by the Malaysian Armed Forces on Dec 1, after their homes in Pasir Mas were flooded. — Bernama
> Sustainability
Malaysian universities continued to improve in terms of sustainability – social impact, environmental impact and governance – according to the QS World University Rankings: Sustainability 2025. The average score of the country’s 29 ranked universities is 52.5, placing Malaysia 28th overall, ahead of Japan, the Philippines and Iceland.
