PUTRAJAYA: The Education Ministry will review the early childhood education system in the country to increase and improve the quality of pre-school students.
Its minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said the ministry will hold discussions with various stakeholders including early childhood experts to improve and evaluate the current system, which was last reviewed in 2015.
"The review is important to ensure that students who enter Primary One are of high quality and are able to read. Therefore we have to make sure the teachers educating these students must have knowledge in early childhood education," he told reporters after visiting the SMK Presint 8 (1) pre-school, here today.
Mahdzir said the ministry would also look into the possibility of increasing the number of pre-school students and classes offered in schools, which are currently limited to students whose parents have a monthly household income of less than RM5,000.
The review was part of the education transformation under the National Education Blueprint Second Wave from year 2016 to 2020.
The ministry had been conducting a series of surprise visits to schools which offer pre-school education in both rural and urban areas.
Mahdzir said the visit was to check on teachers' teaching and learning schedules and the facilities offered in every school.
"We are working hard to ensure both rural and urban schools have the same amount and quality facilities which can be enjoyed by students," he added.