JOHOR BAHRU — The Federal Government has approved the construction of 27 new schools across Johor under the 2023–2025 national budgets, backing the state’s academic infrastructure with a massive allocation exceeding RM2.3 billion.
According to the Ministry of Education (MOE), the sprawling development project will construct 830 new classrooms, directly benefiting more than 29,000 students. The strategic initiative aims to expand access to quality public education while systematically easing classroom overcrowding, particularly within Johor’s rapidly growing urban centers.
Broad Investment Portfolio Slated for School Facilities
The school building boom anchors a wider, multi-million ringgit modernization of Johor’s educational ecosystem. Since 2023, the MOE has expanded early childhood education across the state, establishing 84 new preschool classes under both mainstream and integrated educational streams.
Concurrently, between 2023 and 2025, the ministry channeled RM444.8 million into 5,728 individual upgrading and maintenance projects across various campuses. These infrastructure funds were targeted at restoring basic facilities, including school toilets, canteens, prayer rooms (surau), science laboratories, and specialized design rooms. Within this welfare portfolio, Government-Aided Religious Schools (Sekolah Agama Bantuan Kerajaan) secured a dedicated RM60.6 million upgrade fund, while an additional RM11.7 million was utilized to modernize staff rooms across 369 institutions to improve working conditions for teachers.
Scaling Student Welfare and Security Safeguards
Beyond physical infrastructure, the government has scaled up direct financial and nutritional assistance programs to support families in need. State-level distributions include,
- RM88.7 million for the one-off RM150 Early Schooling Aid, easing back-to-school expenses for 591,722 students from Year One through Form Six.
- RM35.1 million allocated to the Supplementary Food Programme (Rancangan Makanan Tambahan), securing daily nutrition for 48,015 underprivileged students.
- RM24.1 million distributed via the MADANI Book Voucher initiative, empowering 241,610 students across the state to purchase academic literature.
In total, the MOE currently administers 18 distinct assistance frameworks tailored for low-income households in Johor.
To protect students on campus, 40 boarding schools throughout Johor have now been fully equipped with closed-circuit television (CCTV) networks to enable around-the-clock safety monitoring. The ministry noted that these sustained funding injections correlate with strong academic returns, with Johor’s Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) average grade consistently outperforming the national benchmark, alongside robust passing rates in the STPM and STAM examinations.
