Early Learning Starts at Home: Parents and Communities Key to Education Reform, Says Fadhlina | KiddyNews

Parents and local communities will play a crucial role in ensuring the success of Malaysia’s education reforms, particularly as the country prepares to introduce a new preschool curriculum and expand early childhood education opportunities nationwide.

Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the Malaysia Education Plan (RPM) 2026 – 2035 can only achieve its goals through the active involvement of families, educators and communities working together to support children’s learning.

In a Facebook post on Sunday (31st May), she stressed that collaboration beyond the classroom would be especially important as major curriculum changes begin to take shape over the coming years.

New Preschool Curriculum Already Underway

Fadhlina said the implementation of the new preschool curriculum has already started, while efforts to increase the number of preschool classes across the country are continuing.

She added that a new school curriculum for Year One and Form One students will be introduced next year.

“The implementation of the new preschool curriculum has already begun, and the expansion of preschool classes is being actively carried out nationwide,” she said.

According to Fadhlina, these reforms require strong support from parents and communities to ensure children receive consistent learning experiences both at school and at home.

Parents Have a Vital Role in Early Learning

Among the initiatives introduced under the new preschool curriculum are reading sessions designed to strengthen children’s literacy skills from an early age.

Fadhlina noted that such programmes depend heavily on parental participation.

“For example, the reading sessions introduced for preschool children require parents to commit time to reading with their children,” she said.

She added that many other education initiatives will similarly rely on cooperation between schools, families and local communities.

Education experts have long highlighted the importance of early literacy experiences at home, with regular reading helping young children develop language, communication and foundational learning skills before entering primary school.

Building a Stronger Education Ecosystem

Earlier, Fadhlina attended an engagement session with educators, Parent-Teacher Associations (PIBG), and representatives from the Parents, Community and Private Sector Involvement (PIBKS) network in the Ayer Molek and Pengkalan Batu areas.

During the session, she encouraged Melaka to build on its strong performance in the 2025 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination and continue strengthening its education ecosystem.

She also presented allocations totalling RM280,000 to improve teachers’ rooms in 13 schools.

Fadhlina said comfortable and supportive working environments for educators are important in helping teachers focus on their responsibilities and continue providing quality education for children.

A Shared Responsibility for Children’s Future

The minister’s remarks reinforce a growing recognition that early childhood education extends beyond preschools and classrooms.

As Malaysia embarks on a decade of education reform, the success of new preschool programmes and learning initiatives will depend not only on teachers and policymakers, but also on parents and communities who help shape children’s earliest learning experiences every day.

Source:

The Star – “Parents, community crucial to success of Malaysia Education Plan, says Fadhlina”

Thoughtfully adapted by KiddyNews. Keeping parents and educators informed with the latest ECCE developments from Malaysia and beyond.