Review of country’s preschool system needed, says Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: A review of the country’s preschool education system is needed to prevent disparities in the community, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“If we say that only 80% of children attend preschool with different categories, perhaps 40% of them are good, 40% are somewhat mediocre, and about 20% are very weak, it means less than 50% are good,” said Anwar.

“This means that in discussing justice, we are actually widening the gap between urban and rural areas, urban rich and urban poor, rural poor and remote poor,” he added.

Speaking at the launching of the Global Intellectual Discourse 2024 at Universiti Malaya on Monday (Jan 22), Anwar then said preschools under the Ministry of Education need to provide additional facilities comprehensively to all students in the country.

“Let’s start with the basics. Just like last year when we spent RM1 billion just for refurbishing school toilets,” he added. – Bernama