Tamil School Intelligence & Advocacy • tamilschool.org
2nd Meeting 2025
21 July 2025 – 28 August 2025
Education Minister Commits to Tamil School Relocations as MPs Demand RMK-13 Inclusion
Good news for parents worried about the future of under-enrolled Tamil schools. During this parliamentary meeting, the Education Minister officially promised to resolve long-delayed school relocations and fix run-down buildings. Meanwhile, your local representatives pushed hard to ensure Tamil schools get dedicated funding in the government's upcoming five-year plan, while also demanding answers about poor-quality secondhand laptops recently given to students.
Parliamentarians exerted significant pressure on the government to explicitly include Tamil school development and relocation strategies within the upcoming 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK-13). Lawmakers contrasted current policies with past targeted initiatives, arguing that minority communities require dedicated frameworks rather than broad national policies that often overlook vernacular institutions. The debates underscored a growing frustration among backbenchers regarding the lack of targeted socio-economic frameworks, with MPs recalling past initiatives that provided clearer, better-managed annual special allocations for vernacular education. While the Prime Minister detailed millions in specific funding for science and technology programmes, backbenchers heavily criticised the delivery of substandard hardware to students, exposing a gap between budget allocations and on-the-ground implementation. In response to mounting pressure over demographic shifts and infrastructure decay, the Ministry of Education Malaysia (KPM) affirmed a broad commitment to resolving long-standing land acquisition and relocation bottlenecks to ensure institutional sustainability.
Prime Minister YAB Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim outlined RM2.99 million spent on 6,000 laptops for SJK(T)s in 2024, alongside RM698,227 for STEM literacy bulletins in Tamil and English coordinated by the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (MITRA). He confirmed that 60 percent of the 2025 allocations have already been approved.
MPs highlighted a critical demographic challenge, noting that 384 out of the national baseline of 528 SJK(T)s are severely under-enrolled (fewer than 150 students). Lawmakers argued this necessitates urgent relocation strategies to prevent closures and optimise resource allocation.
Representatives heavily criticised the quality of government-supplied hardware, alleging that the 6,000 laptops distributed to SJK(T) students were secondhand and largely unusable, demanding immediate quality assurance interventions from the government.
Lawmakers proposed strategic amalgamations, noting that relocating under-enrolled schools from rural estates to high-density urban areas like Rasah Jaya could transform student populations from under 15 to over 500, significantly reducing KPM's long-term financial burden.
The Ministry of Education committed to resolving land acquisition and relocation bottlenecks for under-enrolled SJK(T)s, directly addressing the Rancangan Pendidikan Malaysia (RPM) goal of equitable access to quality education regardless of school type.
The Prime Minister's Department confirmed RM698,227 in ongoing STEM literacy funding for SJK(T)s in 2025, aligning with the RPM's curriculum support for vernacular education streams and ensuring technological readiness.
Parliamentary demands for dedicated SJK(T) funding mechanisms in RMK-13 signal a push to hold the government accountable to the RPM's promised infrastructure upgrades for under-resourced schools, moving away from ad-hoc funding towards institutionalised support.
Proposals to amalgamate and relocate under-enrolled schools align with the RPM's objective of optimising teacher training and placement in underserved areas, ensuring educators are deployed where student demand is highest.
What to Watch
If your school received the secondhand laptops mentioned in Parliament, immediately document their condition with photographs and submit a formal complaint to your Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah (PPD) and local MP to demand replacements.
For the five schools with long-pending relocation approvals (including SJK(T) RRI Sungai Buloh and SJK(T) Ladang Bahau), Lembaga Pengelola Sekolah (LPS) members must formally write to KPM citing the Minister's 20 August commitment to demand a concrete construction timeline and budget allocation.
Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan Guru (PIBG) leaders should coordinate with their MPs to ensure specific infrastructure requests are officially submitted for inclusion in RMK-13 before the drafting period closes, ensuring your school is not left out of the next five-year funding cycle.
Schools facing severe under-enrolment should proactively identify potential relocation sites in high-density areas and submit proposals through their District Education Office, leveraging the current parliamentary momentum supporting strategic relocations.
If your school is currently charging fees for basic educational access, report this to your local representative, as MPs are actively questioning the government on providing grants to ensure vernacular education remains free and accessible.