Kurikulum Prasekolah 2026: what parents should know

What changed

On 8 January 2026 the Director General of Education issued Surat Pekeliling Ikhtisas KPM Bilangan 1 Tahun 2026. It puts in place the Kurikulum Prasekolah 2026, together with a version for special education, from the first day of the 2026 school calendar.

The same circular cancels the 2016 circular that implemented the KSPK (Kurikulum Standard Prasekolah Kebangsaan, Semakan 2017). If you read older material that refers to KSPK as the current standard, it describes the curriculum that was replaced.

The circular says the new curriculum was approved as part of the Ministry's 2027 school curriculum proposal, and that it aims for children who are healthy in body, mind and spirit, able to communicate and get along with others, confident, and keen to learn, grounded in the Rukun Negara and the National Education Philosophy.

Who it applies to

The circular describes the Kurikulum Prasekolah 2026 as the national preschool curriculum used by all preschools and tadika in the national education system, under section 22 of the Education Act 1996. It defines preschool classes as every institution offering preschool education, including preschools and tadika under KPM, public agencies and private agencies, and says the curriculum must be used in all of them. Implementation follows the Education (National Preschool Curriculum) Regulations 2002, as amended in 2025, and the official curriculum documents.

Time in the week

The circular sets a minimum of 1,200 minutes a week, or 240 minutes a day, including rest. For preschool (not special education) the weekly minutes are allocated like this:

Some details parents often ask about:

• Physical activity is 30 minutes every day, outside the classroom.
• Islamic Education is taught by a qualified teacher when a class has five or more Muslim children; children who are not Muslim have Moral Education with their preschool teacher. In some cases the Moral Education time can be used for learning activities instead.
• Daily routines: 20 minutes of early conversation, 40 minutes of rest and 10 minutes of closing activity each day.
• Reading together is a 30 minute session once a week to build a love of reading, through stories, retelling, drawing or acting out a story.

Languages

The circular sets the languages of instruction by the school's medium of teaching:

• Where Bahasa Melayu is the medium, Bahasa Melayu and English are both used for instruction, with balanced time.
• Where Bahasa Melayu is not the medium, Bahasa Melayu, English and Chinese or Tamil are used, with balanced time across all three.

Teachers may also set aside part of the learning activity time for basic language and early maths skills: up to 40 percent (220 minutes a week) in a Bahasa Melayu medium preschool, or up to 50 percent (275 minutes) where Bahasa Melayu is not the medium, reduced step by step as children master the basics.

How teaching is planned

The circular suggests three main approaches: a thematic approach, project based learning, and teaching and learning in learning centres, which are corners or spaces with materials where children build knowledge through experience, exploration and play, either structured or free. It also asks for an interactive learning environment and a reading environment with books suited to children's development.

Questions you can ask any school

• How is your week organised against the Kurikulum Prasekolah 2026?
• Which language is your medium of teaching, and how is time shared between the languages?
• When and where do children have their daily physical activity?
• How are Islamic Education and Moral Education arranged?
• Do you use themes, projects or learning centres, and can I see them on a visit?
• How do you share my child's progress with me?

What we can tell you about SunnySeeds

Our pages describe what children learn with us: English through Cambridge English with phonics, Bahasa Melayu and Mandarin, with individual reading in all three; numeracy through Eureka Maths; science and STEAM; and daily free play. You can read the detail on our curriculum and learning approach pages. This guide does not claim how our timetable maps, minute by minute, to the new circular; ask us at a visit how our week is organised.