The Education Ministry of Malaysia has announced an increase in mathematics teaching and learning hours for primary school pupils, ahead of the 2027 school curriculum rollout.
Under the revised structure, total mathematics instruction will rise from 576 hours to 608 hours over six years, adding 32 extra hours to pupils learning time. Weekly mathematics lessons will be set at 3.5 hours for Level 1 students (Year 1 and Year 2), and three hours for Levels 2 and 3 (Years 3 to Years 6)
In a written parliamentary reply to Rafizi Ramli, the ministry said the additional hours are intended to give pupils more opportunities to understand mathematical concepts in depth and apply them in daily life. The move will also allow teachers to provide more targeted attention and early intervention for students who need extra support.
Rafizi had asked the ministry to outline it’s short, medium and long-term plans to raise primary school mathematics instruction to at least 1,000 hours over six years.
Currently, Malaysia’s mathematics teaching hours are among the lowest in the region, according to the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) 2024 report. Academics have previously warned that limited mathematics exposure could hinder the development of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.
The ministry noted that mathematics lessons were previously 3.5 hours per week when the Integrated Primary School Curriculum was introduced in 1993. Teaching hours were later reduced to three hours with the introduction of the Primary School Standard Curriculum in 2011, as part of the efforts to strengthen language learning under MBMMBI policy, a structure that remained unchanged in the 2017 KSSR review.
With the upcoming curriculum changes, the ministry aims to strike a better balance between language development and numeracy skills, while reinforcing a stronger foundation for future learning.
Sources: FMT
