KUALA LUMPUR – Over 100 private kindergarten operators are pressing the Education Ministry to streamline early childhood licensing, calling for a single permit overseen by one ministry.
The appeal follows confusion after the ministry announced that six-year-old children would be given the option to enter Year One — a move operators say has exposed long-standing regulatory overlaps.
Gains Education Group director Zaliza Alias said early childhood education covers children from birth to six years old, yet regulation is split between different government bodies.
“Currently, childcare licences for children from birth to four years old fall under the Social Welfare Department, an agency under the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry,” she said, speaking at an emergency meeting of the Malaysian coalition of private kindergarten operators here yesterday.
“There is overlap because kindergartens for children aged four to six are placed under the Education Ministry,” she added.
Zaliza, who also sits on the council committee of the National Association of Private Educational Institutions, noted that childcare and transit centres catering to children from birth to 12 are likewise regulated by the Social Welfare Department.
As a result, a single kindergarten or childcare centre may be required to obtain up to three separate licences from two different ministries, each with its own guidelines and compliance requirements.
Additionally, the cost of securing just one licence can start at RM20,000, with operators having to engage multiple agencies, including the Fire and Rescue Department, the Health Department and local authorities.
“This confuses operators, providers and parents,” she said.
Meanwhile, Brainy Bunch International Kindergarten and School founder Fadzil Hashim said standards in early childhood education should be unified under a single regulatory body.
“Entry into Year One at the age of six must begin on a small scale before being implemented nationwide,” he stressed while speaking to NST.
The Education Ministry, he said, should also provide at least a year’s transition period for operators to restructure their business models and retrain teachers, warning that more than 100,000 kindergarten teachers could otherwise be affected.
Fadzil called on the Education Ministry to consult directly with private kindergarten operators and educators, describing them as key stakeholders in early childhood education.
He said many parents, particularly from Generation Z, were anxious due to the lack of clear information on the proposed diagnostic tests for five-year-old children, while private schools were also unprepared as they had not been consulted on the changes.
He added that the ministry must be more inclusive and transparent when introducing new policies, especially those involving screening tests and the entry age for Year One.
Former education minister Dr Maszlee Malik shared these concerns, warning that sudden policy changes without proper engagement would only increase public anxiety.
He also noted that private kindergarten operators make up a large part of the sector, as most parents send their children to private early childhood education centres. — January 25, 2026