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With curriculum reforms across language, STEM, and higher education pathways, Malaysia aims to nurture students who are both grounded in values and equipped with the skills employers need for the future.
Malaysia has launched its National Education Plan 2026–2035, outlining reforms designed to strengthen education outcomes and equip students with skills relevant for the modern workforce. The plan emphasises both human development and future-ready skills, including digital literacy, artificial intelligence (AI), STEM, and energy transition disciplines.
At the launching ceremony, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim highlighted the urgent need for Malaysia to master emerging fields of knowledge. He noted that relying on outdated methods and timelines would leave the country behind. “New technologies, digital skills, artificial intelligence, energy transition, STEM, and TVET are disciplines that must be embraced now, (not over) three, five, or 10 years,” he said, emphasising that swift adoption is essential for the nation to stay competitive.
He stressed the need for all parties to act quickly and decisively, with commitment and sincerity, to ensure that Malaysia’s children are equipped with the skills and knowledge of new technologies, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence.
"Our Plan is based on two principles: staying rooted in Malaysian values, culture, morals, and humanity, its fundamental strength and racial and cultural diversity. In addition, reaching, soaring and mastering new technologies, disciplines related to digital AI, and new and green energy." he added.
Here are some of the key details of the National Education Plan 2026–2035, as follows:
Curriculum and language reforms
- PM Anwar shared that Bahasa Melayu should remain the official language and language of knowledge, and made compulsory across all schools, including international and religious institutions.
- English proficiency will be enhanced to support global competitiveness, while students can also study Chinese, Tamil, or Arabic.
"While Bahasa Melayu is firmly mastered as an intermediate language and the language of knowledge, the focus and level of the proficiency of English should change."
"English should be given more priority than it is now. Our children must have a good command of English as a second language. Not only learning and teaching at will. The standard and quality of English language education must be improved in our country's national education system."
"English proficiency should be given priority to ensure the future of children in the international space and field, as well as in the field of so-called knowledge proficiency in digital transformation, energy transition, AI etc.," the prime minister added.
- The Malaysian Learning Matrix System, which is an assessment system conducted by the Examination Board, will assess students from Primary Four in Malay, English, Mathematics, Science, and History, providing earlier insights into learning progress, as opposed to the current level of Primary Six.
According to PM Anwar, this shift will allow students in Primary Four to have two years to improve in their studies before entering their secondary education.
Early education and pathways
- Preschool will begin at age 5, with Primary One between the ages of six and seven.
- TVET and STEM pathways will be available from early secondary school, allowing students to explore practical and technical fields earlier.
- Selected schools will receive upgrades in teaching resources and facilities to support quality instruction in core subjects.
Teacher and school support
- Teachers will benefit from salary increases, improved facilities, and reduced administrative duties.
As PM Anwar shares, with the workload on teachers increasing, it is natural for their salary to increase.
"The teacher's facilities, the teacher's room have been improved and we have given an additional allocation of RM100mn now."
- Measures will address bullying and unethical practices to ensure a safe and structured learning environment.
He also stressed that practices reflecting complacency or harmful behaviour must be firmly addressed, as education is fundamentally about shaping human beings guided by values. He said humans are distinguished by their moral capacity and choices, and that education plays a critical role in nurturing individuals to become responsible and principled members of society, rather than allowing systems that enable bullying to persist.
Higher education and skills alignment
- Starting 2026, just as the Ministry of Education takes over the entire pre-school system, the Ministry of Higher Education will take over the entire pre-university, Form Six and matriculation education system.
- Universities will expand electives in fields such as law, accounting, finance and banking, Islamic finance, AI (artificial intelligence), economics, Malay, English, communication, media studies, data science, data analytics, computer science, aligning education with workforce demands.
- An additional 1,500 elective courses will be added in universities, bringing the total number of electives to 3,000 in 2026.
"The ministry is drafting the Polytechnics and Community Colleges Act. Ten polytechnics will be upgraded continuously throughout the education planning period," the prime minister shared.
- General subjects on Malaysian history and constitutional knowledge will be taught in Bahasa Melayu to strengthen civic understanding.
- Affordable student accommodation will be provided in partnership with government-linked companies.
"I have had preliminary negotiations and hopefully this year we will start with certain universities with the target of providing 5,000 additional accommodations to students."
Inclusivity and access
- Free education from Primary One to Form Six will be available for disadvantaged students, with additional support for students with disabilities in tertiary education.
"Around 5,800 hardcore poor students will be given free education, and now I want to announce that we will increase this number through PTPTN assistance to 10,000 poor students.
"Today I would also like to announce that all students in the OKU category in IPTA, Polytechnic, Community Colleges totaling around 3,000 people will be given free education from now on."
Implementation and accountability
- Ministries, universities, and school leaders are accountable for delivering the plan, with monthly progress reports to ensure reforms translate into measurable outcomes.
From policy to practice
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim emphasised that the success of the National Education Plan will depend on execution rather than intent. He said ministers, senior civil servants, vice-chancellors, and education leaders are accountable for translating the plan into measurable outcomes, with monthly implementation reports required from the end of March.
He cautioned that well-designed policies and strong public reception would be meaningless without consistent follow-through, noting that the true challenge lies in delivery. To address this, he said senior officials, including permanent secretaries and directors-general, will be held fully responsible for ensuring the plan is implemented effectively.
Anwar added that the plan reflects the government’s commitment to driving tangible reforms in education, with the goal of improving education quality over the coming years and ensuring better outcomes for future generations.
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Lead image / PM Anwar Facebook
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