KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 21 — Two parents’ groups have raised concerns about the absence of clear initiatives in Budget 2025 to enhance students’ mastery of the English language.

Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairman Noor Azimah Rahim said the budget did not allocate significant funding for English proficiency, despite Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s emphasis on the language’s importance.

“It appears that there isn’t a significant amount of budget allocated to these areas,” Noor Azimah told Free Malaysia Today (FMT).

She also questioned the lack of funding to strengthen the Dual Language Programme (DLP).

Anwar had previously said in June that the government must focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects along with English proficiency to prepare the next generation.

Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (Magpie) chairman Mak Chee Kin echoed similar concerns.

“There was no specific allocation for learning English, despite Anwar stressing its importance during the Budget speech,” Mak said.

He added that the government must take stronger measures to improve English proficiency, especially to complement its plans to train more experts in artificial intelligence (AI).

Ikatan Guru Muslim Malaysia (iGuru) president Azizee Hasan welcomed the RM2 billion allocated for upgrading infrastructure and digital facilities in schools, saying it would help reduce disparities between rural and urban schools.

However, Azizee expressed concern that Budget 2025 did not include special grants to support teachers in enhancing their teaching methods, adding that many teachers are using their own money to buy teaching and learning equipment.

His remarks followed the World Bank’s recommendation in April that Malaysia should strengthen teacher training programmes and adopt policies aligned with teachers’ needs.

The education ministry received the largest allocation under Budget 2025, with RM64.1 billion.

The prime minister also announced nearly RM800 million in early schooling aid for all 5.2 million students from Year 1 to Form 5, regardless of their parents’ income.

The allocation for the supplementary food programme has been increased to RM870 million, benefiting over 860,000 students next year.