Huang Jiahe: Unable to Adapt in Year 1 Cannot Withdraw; If 6-Year-Olds Are Not Ready, Wait Until 7

(Kuala Lumpur, 22nd) — In response to the issue of the 'double intake' for Primary One in 2027, Deputy Minister of Education Huang Jiahe emphasized that whether 6-year-olds start school early is entirely up to parental choice. Once the decision is made to enroll in Primary One, the child must complete the academic year and cannot return to kindergarten midway; if they are not ready, they may choose to begin school at 7. The Ministry of Education will take a multipronged approach, including building additional classrooms, expanding with the Industrialized Building System (IBS), and hiring 20,000 contract teachers, to ensure that the double intake will not impact teaching quality.

Addressing the 2027 double intake for Primary One, Deputy Minister of Education Huang Jiahe reiterated that whether 6-year-olds enter school early is a voluntary choice for parents. Once decided, the child must complete the Primary One syllabus and cannot return to kindergarten midway; if the child is not ready, they may start at 7 instead. The Ministry of Education will add more classrooms, expand with IBS, and hire 20,000 contract teachers to ensure the double intake won't affect teaching quality.

Deputy Minister of Education Huang Jiahe stated that if a 6-year-old finds it hard to adapt after enrolling in Primary One, they cannot drop out midway to return to kindergarten; instead, they must continue with the Primary One syllabus.

"If you’ve decided for your child to start Primary One at age 6 next year, then let them proceed; there is no such thing as going back to kindergarten after three months. If this were allowed, wouldn’t it imply that this child is inferior to others? Wouldn’t it trigger another round of debate over psychological assessments?"

He stressed that this is a voluntary measure, and it is entirely up to parents to decide if their 6-year-old is ready for Primary One. If not, they can begin at 7 in 2028.

He said schools will evaluate the proficiency of Year 1 and 2 students—particularly in reading, writing, and arithmetic—using existing assessment methods. If any students are found to lack these basic skills, schools will intervene to help them keep up with coursework and learning.

“Parental choice is most important; they know their children best. In fact, whether a child is 6 or 7, some 7-year-olds also struggle to keep up academically and may require school intervention.”

He made these remarks during a joint interview with Chinese-language media regarding the 2027 double intake issue.

He said that overcrowding will occur in some schools located in densely populated areas, and the Ministry of Education will adopt multiple measures including constructing new classrooms and assigning students to other schools within a 5-kilometer radius of the applied school.

He revealed that the Ministry is currently collecting data from all schools to identify which ones will face classroom shortages due to the double intake. IBS will be employed for rapid classroom construction.

He added that if even with IBS additions or nearby schools the issue cannot be alleviated and overcrowding persists, and if the original school operates only in the morning, the ultimate plan would be to shift the school to a dual-session (morning and afternoon) system.

As for whether there will be limits on the number of students per class, Huang Jiahe said this will depend on circumstances. He admitted that some densely populated schools may have up to 50 students per class, but the Ministry will handle this flexibly.

He disclosed that upon consultation with principals and teachers, he learned that teachers generally prefer class sizes of about 30 students under current teaching methods. Regardless, Huang Jiahe stated that after the double intake measures are implemented, teaching quality will not be compromised.

He also said that the Ministry of Education will recruit 20,000 teachers on a contract (COS) basis to deal with the teacher shortage for next year’s Primary One double intake of 6- and 7-year-olds.