KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 6 -- After nearly five years of disrupted and adjusted school calendars following the Covid-19 pandemic, parents and teachers are welcoming the return of the January school start.

From 2026, schools nationwide will revert to beginning the academic year in January, ending years of late starts that stretched into March and disrupted household planning.

For Nur Aisyah Rahman, 41, who has three children in primary school, starting the school year in January makes financial planning far more manageable.

"Everything feels more structured. You come out of December knowing the school year is about to begin, so you can plan expenses properly instead of feeling rushed.

"When school started later, we were still spending on uni...