education levy

by FARAH SOLHI 

THE government will exempt education levy payments for private education and training providers for the whole of 2026 starting Jan 1 next year, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (picture). 

This exemption, he said, is applicable to all private institutions including pre-schools, primary and secondary schools, vocational, training and higher institutions. 

“There have been many appeals regarding levy payments from educational institutions including vocational and training institutions. 

“Today, for the first time, the government announces education levy exemptions for (all private) learning institutions for a year, starting Jan 1, 2026,” he said in his speech at the National Training Week (NTW2025) opening ceremony at Stadium Bukit Jalil today. 

He added  that the  exemption is so that these institutions can focus on improving their education and training standards. 

Anwar said the Education Ministry’s secretary-general and the Human Resources Ministry (KESUMA) have been tasked to oversee this, to ensure institutions involved get to offer training in the best way possible and for those that recorded high profits could distribute some returns to their employees. 

The NTW2025, scheduled from June 14 to 21, is a week-long event focused on skill developments and lifelong learning. 

The event, which is also the second flagship of Human Resource Development Corporation (HRDCorp) ASEAN Year of Skill (AYOS) is held in conjunction with Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN this year.

Under the “Learning Beyond Borders” theme, NTW2025 offers over 71,000 free training courses, with 40% of it focused on training related to Industry 4.0 and targeting 1 million enrollments to empower ASEAN through accessible and inclusive learning. 

KESUMA minister Steven Sim Chee Keong said enrollments recorded during the launch of NTW2025 reached 2 million, with the trainings offered during the week also opened to ASEAN communities, as part of Malaysia’s commitment in chairing ASEAN this year. 

He added that KESUMA, in cooperation with the Education Ministry, will implement Artificial Intelligence (AI) programmes for educators. 

“This programme aims to train around 395,000 educators nationwide in applying AI in their teaching-and-learning, not only in terms of technique and skills but also on ethical usage of AI. 

“This is to ensure our teachers, who are the frontliners in human capital development, are well equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to face challenges in this AI-powered era,” he said.

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