[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-132151-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":74,"doc-detail-132151-en":124},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":67,"head_meta":69,"extra_data":71,"updated_unix":73},105,"en","move-aligns-withglobal-practice-national-parents-group-urges-start-formal-schooling-at-age-6","MOVE ALIGNS WITHGLOBAL PRACTICE - National parents group urges start formal schooling at age 6","","National parents’ groups’ representative states that enrolling pupils into formal schooling at age 6 aligns with global standards. Associate Professor Datuk Dr Mohamad Ali Hassan argues Malaysia has lagged behind because policy currently requires starting at 7, while several countries begin compulsory education at 6. He urges a thorough preschool syllabus study, addresses readiness gaps from income disparity, and stresses regulation, affordability, teacher training, monitoring, and fairness of access. He also supports early assessment reforms and stronger character education.",{"@graph":14,"@context":66},[15,34,49],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/move-aligns-withglobal-practice-national-parents-group-urges-start-formal-schooling-at-age-6/132151/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"author":36,"headline":10,"publisher":39,"fileFormat":42,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":43,"datePublished":43,"encodingFormat":42,"isAccessibleForFree":44,"interactionStatistic":45},"DigitalDocument",{"name":37,"@type":38},"Aurora","Person",{"url":19,"name":40,"@type":41},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-08-13",true,{"@type":46,"interactionType":47,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":48},"ViewAction",{"@type":50,"mainEntity":51},"FAQPage",[52,58,62],{"name":53,"@type":54,"acceptedAnswer":55},"Why does the National Parent-Teacher Associations Collaborative Council support starting formal schooling at age 6?","Question",{"text":56,"@type":57},"It is described as consistent with global standards and comparable practices in other countries, especially developing ones.","Answer",{"name":59,"@type":54,"acceptedAnswer":60},"What concerns did Ali raise about Malaysia’s readiness for earlier enrolment?",{"text":61,"@type":57},"He highlighted the lack of standardized preschool education, the need for a syllabus review, and issues around preparedness linked to income disparities, regulation, fees, affordability, and teacher training.",{"name":63,"@type":54,"acceptedAnswer":64},"How did the article evaluate Malaysia’s education assessment and broader learning goals?",{"text":65,"@type":57},"It calls Year Four assessment reforms a positive step for early intervention, while also arguing that academic achievement is emphasized more than moral and character development and recommending greater focus on character and values education.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":68,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":40,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":70,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":72,"site_id":7},132151,1786665490,{"code":4,"msg":75,"data":76},"success",[77,81,85,89,94,99,104,108,113,116,120],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":78,"show_sort_weight":79,"slug":80},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":82,"show_sort_weight":83,"slug":84},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":86,"show_sort_weight":87,"slug":88},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":90,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":91,"show_sort_weight":92,"slug":93},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":95,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":100,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},8,30,"research-report",{"id":109,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":114,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":115},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":118,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":119},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":121,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":122,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":123},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":75,"data":125},{"doc_id":72,"user_id":126,"nickname":37,"user_avatar":127,"doc_module":4,"category_id":105,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":128,"file_id":129,"file_url":130,"file_type":131,"file_size":132,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":22,"language":133,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":134,"faqs":135,"seo_title":136,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":73,"read_time":30},4810365810221,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","MOVE ALIGNS WITHGLOBAL PRACTICE  \nNational parents'group says Malaysia isleft behind compared with other nations  \n# ZAF SERAJ\n\nKUALA LUMPUR  \nnews@nst.com.my       \nLLOWING pupils to en-rolinschoolat the age of6 is in line with globalstandards,said the pres-.ident of the National Parent-Teacher Associations Collabora-tive Council(PIBGN).  \nAssociate Professor Datuk DrMohamad Ali Hassan saidMalaysia had lagged behind in-ternational practice,as currentnational policy requires childrento begin formal schooling at 7.  \n“Children in developing coun-tries start school early.To me,weare left behind.  \n“Education for our students asearly as 6 years old is in line withwhat the other developing coun-  \ntries are doing,”he told the NewStraits Times.  \nCompulsory education in coun-tries like New Zealand,Japan andGermany,begins at the age of 6.  \nHowever,Ali raised concernsabout the country's prepared-ness,noting that preschool ed-ucation in Malaysia is not stan-dardised.  \n\"The Education Ministry mustcarry out a thorough study on thepreschool syllabus to find out ifitis in line with the education sys-tem.How many per cent of ourchildren are given the a chance tostudy in preschool?\"he asked.  \nHe said income disparityamong families could affect chil-dren's readiness for school,po-tentially widening existing in-equalities in education.  \nAli said several key issues must  \nbe addressed before preschool orearly enrolment was made com-pulsory,including whether thegovernment could mandate at-tendance,the affordability offees,the quality of curricula,teacher training and monitoring.  \nHe said parents were con-cerned about whether preschoolswere properly regulated,in par-ticular their fees.  \nAli added that the governmentmust take these factors into ac-count and ensure equal access toeducation before implementingearly school enrolment.  \nOn assessment reforms,he saidthe new Year Four assessmentsystem,set tobegin next year,wasa positive step as it allowed earlyintervention for weaker students.  \n\"They have at least two years(before secondary school)tomake remedial measures.  \n\"I think it is better to have acentralisedexam inYear Four.  \n\"Although they don’t have a so-called centralised exam for Year  \nAssociate Professor Datuk Dr  \nMohamad Ali Hassan  \nOne to Three,I think that kind ofadjustment for the student is notthat shocking for them.”  \nAli also said the education sys-tem appeared to place greateremphasis on academic achieve-ment than on moral and char-acter development.  \n\"It seems that we are still stress-ing on academic achievement.Not so much on character devel-opment.”  \nHe said greater weightageshould be given to character andvalues education,even thoughassessing morals and characterremained a challenge.  \nCiting Japan and South Korea,Ali said their primary educationsystems focused less on academ-ic content and more on characterbuilding,cooperation,andstrong involvement from teach-ers and parents —elements hesaid should be inculcated inMalaysia's education system.  \nBERITAHARIANUTUSAN M'SIA  \nN.STRAITS TIME  \n日  \nTHE STAR  \nSINAR HARIAN  \nTARIKH:22 JANUARI 2026(KHAMIS)","cbCaib67NxlamDf8","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaib67NxlamDf8","pdf",1443356,"English","# Policy and global comparison\n## Current requirement to start at age 7\n## Countries starting compulsory education at 6\n# Preschool readiness and implementation risks\n## Preschool curriculum standardisation\n## Affordability, regulation and equal access\n# Assessment and education balance\n## Year Four assessment reforms\n## Character and values education","[{\"question\":\"Why does the National Parent-Teacher Associations Collaborative Council support starting formal schooling at age 6?\",\"answer\":\"It is described as consistent with global standards and comparable practices in other countries, especially developing ones.\"},{\"question\":\"What concerns did Ali raise about Malaysia’s readiness for earlier enrolment?\",\"answer\":\"He highlighted the lack of standardized preschool education, the need for a syllabus review, and issues around preparedness linked to income disparities, regulation, fees, affordability, and teacher training.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the article evaluate Malaysia’s education assessment and broader learning goals?\",\"answer\":\"It calls Year Four assessment reforms a positive step for early intervention, while also arguing that academic achievement is emphasized more than moral and character development and recommending greater focus on character and values education.\"}]","MOVE ALIGNS WITHGLOBAL PRACTICE - National parents group urges start formal schooling at age 6 | PDF"]