New assessment for Year 4 students from 2026; tests to cover four subjects

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 20 — Primary students in Year 4 will be required to sit for a new assessment starting this year.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who made the announcement today, said the assessment covers four subjects: Bahasa Malaysia, English, Science, and Mathematics.

“Starting this year, the Year 4 assessment will be administered by the Malaysian Examination Board,” he said during the launch of the National Education Blueprint 2026-2035, held at the international convention centre here.

He added that from 2027, Form 3 students will be required to sit for an additional subject — History.

He also said students in Years 5 and 6 will have two years to improve their performance before entering Form 1.

In his speech, Anwar also said the RM1 billion education allocation in 2023 is meant to address infrastructure upgrade issues such as school toilets, with ongoing monitoring to ensure any remaining problems are resolved.

“As an initial plan, each district will have five primary schools and five secondary schools selected to receive upgrades.

“The focus is not only on infrastructure but also on teaching quality, particularly in Malay, English, Mathematics, and Science,” he added.

He explained that the selected schools will be district schools, not full boarding or science secondary schools.

“They will be provided with the best possible facilities,” Anwar said.

* Editor’s note: An earlier headline erroneously listed five subjects instead of four for Year 4 students, and have since been amended accordingly, as the fifth subject, History, is for Form 3 students.