PUTRAJAYA: The bill to amend the Education Act 1996, making secondary education compulsory will be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat in February.
Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the Attorney General's Chambers had reviewed the draft and the ministry hopes to present it during the upcoming Dewan Rakyat sitting in February.
"The nature of this bill is very important and critical for us. We already have a primary school education policy and through this policy, we have achieved an exceptionally high enrollment rate of between 98 and 99 per cent.
"With the compulsory secondary school education policy, we are reaffirming our commitment to ensuring that no child is left behind, particularly at the upper secondary level," she told reporters after her ministry's monthly assembly today.
Fadhlina said the ministry acknowledged the challenges in education, including the post-Covid-19 situation and the involvement of students who are working.
"These factors are being taken into account and we will initiate this process with advocacy and awareness campaigns targeting parents and the community.
"Therefore, we hope that in the upcoming parliamentary session, we will be ready to table this in the Dewan Rakyat."
Earlier, in her speech, Fadhlina shared an incident in Terengganu involving several students who had dropped out.
"The headmaster told me that the parents came to school and 'threw' the textbooks, saying, 'our child doesn't want to go to school anymore'.
"This is sad and a challenge for us at the ministry to convince parents that education can change both them and their children."
The present Education Policy states that under the Education Act 1996, education is only compulsory up to Year Six.
In March 2023, it was reported that the Education Ministry had submitted a draft proposal to the AGC to make secondary school education compulsory.