PUTRAJAYA: All schools nationwide, including international, religious and UEC-stream schools, will be required to offer Bahasa Melayu and History as compulsory subjects in the SPM examination, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
He said the move will align all education systems under a single national framework and remove disputes over access to higher education.
The requirement will also apply to religious and tahfiz schools, which may retain their religious curriculum but must teach the two subjects as a condition for receiving government aid.
Anwar said the policy supports Bahasa Melayu as the national language while also strengthening English as a second language to meet global and future workforce demands.
He added that the Education Ministry has been directed to ensure enough teachers for major and elective languages in national schools.