Congrats: Fadhlina sharing a light moment with award recipients for the best performing students in the 2022 STPM and Malaysian University English Test at the Malaysian Examinations Council in Selayang. — FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
SELAYANG: The Form Six colleges will be rebranded and their heads given more autonomy starting immediately.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said these are part of efforts to improve the image of the Form Six learning environment.
During the award presentation ceremony to Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) top scorers, she said the heads of the Form Six Colleges would be given the autonomy to decide on appeal cases for enrolment into Form Six.
“The ministry is in the process of drafting the strategy to give autonomy to the college heads to take in students if there are still spaces available at their institution,” she said, adding that about only 60% of the seats are currently filled.
She said this is one way to give more opportunities for Malaysia’s youth, especially those with potential, to gain a tertiary education.
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Currently, the only way into Form Six is through an offer by the ministry.
In addition, she said the Form Six colleges will undergo a rebranding process and be renamed as Education Ministry pre-university colleges.
As part of this rebranding, the principals of these colleges will be referred to as directors, senior assistant teachers will hold the title of deputy directors, and teachers will be addressed as lecturers.
“The government is also examining a special route to increase the number of excellent sixth-form teachers,” she said, adding that about 60 teachers (0.5%) are currently excellent teachers.
She also said that this is just a rebranding exercise that would not affect the principal’s or teacher’s grades or their minimum qualifications.
STPM students, she said, should no longer be considered school-going. “You are pre-university students under the Education Ministry,” she said.
“Over time, we hope to improve the facilities, infrastructure and other needs of these colleges,” she added.
National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Fouzi Singon said if the rebranding exercise is successful, there will be more students opting for Form Six as it is a faster pathway to a degree compared to a diploma.
While welcoming the decision to give more autonomous power to the principals, he also said caution must be exercised so that it is not abused.
He said students should not be selected solely to protect the rating and performance of the college.
Echoing his sentiment, Kolej Tingkatan Enam Tun Fatimah’s Parent-Teacher Association chairman Mak Chee Kin said the rebranding should also be done to attract quality students.
He said the main issue that needs to be addressed is the fact that STPM holders who do well face difficulty getting into a course of their choice at public universities.
In addition, he said that the physical condition of some Form Six Colleges, including this one, needs to be improved.
Mak, who also serves as the chairman of the Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie), expressed concern about the poor state of the college.
He highlighted the lack of essential facilities such as fans and a stage in their hall.
Separately, Malaysian Examinations Council chairman Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Ekhwan Toriman said a new STPM syllabus is expected to come into effect in 2026.
He said the council is in the final stages of fine-tuning the current STPM syllabus and it is expected to be implemented with the Semester 1 STPM 2026 examinations.
