Former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin has cautioned the Education Ministry against using a proposed diagnostic screening test for six-year-olds entering Year One as a means to manage overcrowded schools.
Speaking on the Keluar Sekejap podcast, Khairy warned that the screening — intended to assess whether younger children are ready to begin primary school — could instead become a tool to limit student intake due to inadequate classroom capacity.
He said such an approach would represent a policy failure if decisions were driven by infrastructure constraints rather than a child’s educational readiness.
“If all six- and seven-year-olds enter Year One at the same time, schools simply won’t be able to cope. So the screening is made optional, and students are filtered through a diagnostic test to avoid overcrowding. If that is the reason, then the purpose is no longer about a child’s preparedness,” he said.
Khairy expressed concern that intake numbers could be adjusted to fit available capacity instead of reflecting genuine assessments.
“You might say only an extra 10 or 20 per cent can be accepted, so the line is drawn there. That would be wrong,” he added.
Former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan echoed these concerns, saying implementation details should have been finalised before such a major policy announcement.
“When a policy of this scale is announced — especially one that will trigger strong reactions — the answers on implementation should already be clear, not postponed for later study,” he said.
Despite their concerns, both Khairy and Shahril said they supported the principle of starting primary school at an earlier age, noting that Malaysia begins formal education later than many other countries.
Shahril suggested that a better approach would have been to announce the policy but delay its implementation by about two years to allow time for targeted investments in classrooms and teaching staff.
“At least there would be advance notice and infrastructure expansion, even if it appears slower. That way, this problem could be avoided,” he said.
Khairy added that a one-year “surge cohort” involving both six- and seven-year-olds could be managed with proper planning, including temporary measures such as hiring additional teachers or introducing double sessions.
Without adequate preparation, he warned the screening process could create early stigma and perceptions of inequality among children.
“We risk creating a divide between those seen as capable of starting school at six and those who are made to wait until seven. The unintended consequences are serious,” he said, adding that public criticism could likely lead to adjustments to the policy.
