Govt to make secondary education mandatory

THE government will make secondary education mandatory to enhance policy and improve the quality of the national education system.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek (picture) said a related bill will be tabled in Parliament during the session starting from February 3 to March 6 and hopes this measure can address issues within the education system, including the problem of students not attending the Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM) examination.

“Another initiative from the ministry is to elevate the policy of mandatory education for secondary schools.

“We hope these steps can be implemented effectively to tackle issues related to attendance, dropout rates, and improving the quality of education in the country. Give us some time,” she said at a press conference after the 2025 School Aid Check Presentation Ceremony at the Federal Territory Education Department yesterday.

Earlier it was reported that more than 10,000 or about 3% of the students failed to show up for their SPM examination this year.

Previously the ministry reported 10,160 out of 383,685 students failed to attend the examination last year while 29,663 out of 388,832 students did not attend in 2022. –TMR