Kuala lumpur: A total of 30,488 new students have registered at polytechnics nationwide for Session 1 of 2026/2027 as of yesterday, marking a notable achievement of over 125 percent.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Minister of Higher Education Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir highlighted that the impressive registration numbers reflect growing public trust in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system. "As of yesterday, when registration closed at 5 pm, a total of 30,488 new polytechnic students have registered nationwide, and what we found is that this is a very proud achievement of over 125 percent," he stated in a recent announcement.

Dr Zambry further explained that the registration process for new polytechnic students for the upcoming session proceeded smoothly, with strong backing from parents. In response to the significant increase in student numbers, he has directed Dr Shamsuri Abdullah, director-general of the Polytechnic and Community College Education Department (POLYCC), to promptly address issues related to student placement and accommodations.

Dr Zambry acknowledged the challenges posed by the high enrollment numbers, particularly regarding housing arrangements for incoming students. He emphasized the need for immediate action to ensure that students have access to comfortable accommodations.

The government is also taking steps to expand academic offerings at polytechnics by increasing the number of degree-level courses. "We recently announced that five polytechnics will be upgraded to offer degree-level programmes, and we hope these technical programmes will get a good response," Dr Zambry added.

In addition to the polytechnic registrations, 102 community colleges are actively enrolling new students from June 22-25.