Face-to-face Interviews For SRBJ Intake From Next Year

By Hasnah Jusid

JOHOR BAHRU, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- Starting next year, Johor Education Department will introduce face-to-face interviews for Year One and Form One admissions to Sekolah Rintis Bangsa Johor (SRBJ).

State Education and Information Committee chairman Aznan Tamin said candidates will be assessed holistically, including academic performance, co-curricular involvement, character, personality and overall activeness.

“The approach ensures selected pupils are truly ready to benefit from the SRBJ ecosystem. The state government’s goal is for SRBJ students to be at par with those from fully residential schools (SBP) and MARA Junior Science Colleges (MRSM),” he told Bernama.

He said that feedback since SRBJ’s launch in February last year has been positive, with strong parental interest driven by confidence in the school’s direction and upgrades under its first phase of infrastructure improvements, where facilities are now described as modern, comfortable and efficient, comparable to private schools.

He stressed that the state aims to position SRBJ among Malaysia’s top 20 daily schools in English and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by 2031.

“For SRBJ, the education transformation plan has been carefully designed with the vision of making Johor a leading state in quality education systems as well as producing an excellent and competitive generation of Bangsa Johor by 2031 through early childhood education initiatives,” he said.

Aznan said the state government is also refining plans for Tadika Rintis Bangsa Johor, in collaboration with the State Education Department, the Community Development Department (KEMAS) and the Johor Education Foundation, to serve as a feeder system for existing SRBJ schools.

Inspired by Johor Regent Tunku Mahkota Ismail, SRBJ is built on four pillars, namely mastery of English without sidelining the Malay language, STEM excellence, employability and character development, and internationally benchmarked competency assessments.

Four schools have been selected for the 2025/2026 academic session - SMK Seri Kota Puteri 2 and SK Seri Kota Puteri 4 in Pasir Gudang, as well as SMK Tasek Utara and SK Tasek Utara in Johor Bahru.

-- BERNAMA