Education in Malaysia

Education in Malaysia may be obtained from government-sponsored schools, private schools, or through homeschooling. The education system is highly centralised, particularly for primary and secondary schools, with state and local governments having little say in the curriculum or other major aspects of education. Standardised tests are a common feature.

[edit] Characteristics

Education in Malaysia broadly consists of a set of stages which are:

Only Primary Education in Malaysia is mandated by law, hence it is not a criminal offence to neglect the educational needs of a child after six years of Primary Education.

Primary and secondary education in government schools is handled by the Ministry of Education, but policies regarding tertiary education are handled by the Ministry of Higher Education, created in 2004.

Starting 2003, the government used English as a medium of teaching,in all science subjects, however this creates a discrimination between students who are and who are not fluent in the particular language.

[edit] Pre-School

Attendance in a pre-school programme is not universal and generally only affluent families can afford to send their children to private, for profit pre-schools.

The government has no formal pre-school curriculum for pre-schoolers except a formal mandatory training and certification to principals and teachers before they can operate a pre-school. The training covers lessons on child psychology, teaching methodologies, and other related curriculum on childcare and development.

Registered pre-schools are subjected to zoning regulations and must comply to other regulations such as health screening and fire hazard assessment. Many of the preschools are located in high density residential areas where normal residences which comply to the regulations of the Welfare Ministry is converted for this purpose. Some private schools have pre-school sections. Other pre-school programmes are run by religious groups.

[edit] Primary

Primary education consists of six years of education, referred to as Year 1 to Year 6 (also known as Standard 1 to Standard 6). Year 1 to Year 3 are classified as Level One (Tahap Satu in Malay) while Year 4 to Year 6 are considered as Level Two (Tahap Dua). Primary education begins at the age of 7 and ends at 12. Students are promoted to the next year regardless of their academic performance.

From 1996 until 2000, the Penilaian Tahap Satu (PTS) or the Level One Evaluation was administered to Year 3 students. Excellence in this test allowed students to skip Year 4 and attend Year 5 instead. However, the test was removed from 2001 onwards due to concerns that parents and teachers were unduly pressuring students to pass the exam.

At the end of primary education, students in national schools are required to undergo a standardised test known as the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) or Primary School Evaluation Test. The subjects tested are Malay comprehension, written Malay, English, Science and Mathematics. Previously, Chinese and Tamil comprehension along with written Chinese and Tamil are optional subjects for Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools.

In January 2003, a mixed medium of instruction was introduced so that Standard 1 students would learn Science and Mathematics in English whilst other subjects are taught in Malay. Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools generally conduct classes in Mandarin and Tamil respectively. Recently, Tamil schools have also begun to employ English for teaching Science and Mathematics and currently, Chinese schools teach Science and Mathematics in both English and Chinese. Participation in the UPSR is not compulsory, but all vernacular schools also administer the UPSR to their students as this allows for re-integration of their students into national schools for secondary education.^{[citation needed]}

The division of public education at the primary level into national and national-type school has been criticised for allegedly creating racial polarisation at an early age. In the 1970s, around half of all Chinese parents sent their students to national schools; as of 2006, the same figure stood at 6%. Lim Guan Eng of the opposition Democratic Action Party stated that ""When I was growing up in Malaysia, going to national schools, I never imagined that the country would become so polarized." It has been suggested that non-Malays, Chinese in particular, avoid national schools due to their perception as being Malay-dominated.^[1]

[edit] Secondary

Secondary Education consists of 5 years of schooling referred to as Form 1 to Form 5.

Public secondary schools are regarded as extensions of the national schools. At the end of Form 3, the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) or Lower Secondary Evaluation is taken by students. (This was formerly known as Sijil Pelajaran Rendah [SRP] or the Lower Certificate of Education [LCE].) Based on results, they will be streamed into either the Science stream or Arts stream. The Science stream is generally more desirable. Students are allowed to shift to the Arts stream from the Science stream, but rarely vice-versa.

At the end of Form 5, students are required to take the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or Malaysian Certificate of Education examination, before graduating from secondary school. The SPM was based on the old British ‘School Certificate’ examination before it became General Certificate of Education 'O' Levels examination, which became the GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education). As of 2006, students are given a GCE 'O' Level grade for their English paper in addition to the normal English SPM paper. (Previously, this was reported on result slips as a separate result labelled 1119, which meant students received two grades for their English papers.) This separate grade is given based on the marks of the essay-writing component of the English paper. The essay section of the English paper is remarked under the supervision of officials from British 'O' Levels examination . Although not part of their final certificates, the 'O' Level grade is included on their results slip.

Shortly after the release of the 2005 SPM results in March 2006, the Education Ministry announced it was considering reforming the SPM system due to what was perceived as over-emphasis on As. Local educators appeared responsive to the suggestion, with one professor at the University of Malaya deploring university students who could not write letters, debate, or understand footnoting. He complained that "They don't understand what I am saying. ... I cannot communicate with them." He claimed that "Before 1957 (the year of independence), school heroes were not those with 8As or 9As, they were the great debaters, those good in drama, in sport, and those leading the Scouts and Girl Guides." A former Education Director-General, Murad Mohd Noor, agreed, saying that "The rat race now begins at Standard 6 with the UPSR, with the competition resulting in parents forcing their children to attend private tuition." He also expressed dismay at the prevalence of students taking 15 or 16 subjects for the SPM, calling it "unnecessary". ^[2]

In Chinese independent high schools however, students take a standardised test known as the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC). Some students in these schools take SPM examinations as private candidates. UEC has been run by the Dong Jiao Zhong (the association of Chinese school teachers and trustees) since 1975. It is recognised as the entrance qualification in many tertiary educational institutions internationally like Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, China and some European countries, but not by the government of Malaysia for entry into public universities. However, most private colleges recognise it. In May 2004 the National Accreditation Board (LAN) required students entering local private colleges using any qualification other than the SPM to pass the SPM Malay paper. This drew protests and the then Higher Education Minister Dr Shafie Salleh exempted UEC students from this requirement.

The UEC is available in three levels: Vocational Unified Exam (UEC-V), UEC Junior Middle Level (UEC-JML) and Senior Middle Level (UEC-SML). The syllabus and examinations for the UEC-V and UEC-JML are only available in the Chinese language. The UEC-SML has questions for mathematics, sciences (biology, chemistry and physics), bookkeeping, accounting and commerce in both Chinese and English. The difficulty of UEC-SML test papers is nearly equivalent to A-level except English, while its maths and science papers can sometimes be more difficult than A-level papers.

[edit] Pre-University

After the SPM, students would have a choice of either studying Form 6 or the matriculation (pre-university). If they are accepted to continue studying in Form 6, they will also take the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia or Malaysian Higher School Certificate examination (its British equivalent is the General Certificate of Education 'A' Levels examination or internationally, the Higher School Certificate). Form 6 consists of two years of study which is known as Lower 6 (Tingkatan Enam Rendah) and Upper 6 (Tingkatan Enam Atas). The STPM regarded as one of the hardest tests in the academic world due to the wide scope of its syllabus. Although it is generally taken by those desiring to attend public universities in Malaysia, it is internationally recognised and may also be used, though rarely required, to enter private local universities for undergraduate courses.

Additionally all students may apply for admission to matriculation which is a one or two-year programme run by the Ministry of Education. Previously, it was a one-year programme, but beginning 2006, 30% of all matriculation students were offered two-year programmes. Not all applicants for matriculation are admitted and the selection criteria are not publicly declared, which has led to speculation that any criteria existing may not be adhered to. A race-based quota is applied on the admission process, with 90% of the places being reserved for the bumiputeras, and the other 10% for the non-bumiputeras. The matriculation programme is not as rigorous as the STPM. The matriculation programme has come under some criticism as it is the general consensus that this programme is much easier than the sixth form programme leading to the STPM and serves to help Bumiputeras enter the public university easily. It is considered easier because in the matriculation program the teachers set and mark the final exams that their students sit, whereas in the STPM the final exam is standardised and exam papers are exchanged between schools in different states to ensure unbiased marking.

Some students undertake their pre-university studies in private colleges. They may opt for programmes such as the British 'A' Levels programme, the Canadian matriculation programme or the equivalent of other national systems - namely the Australian NSW Board of Studies Higher School Certificate and the American High School Diploma with AP subjects. More recently, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is becoming more popular as a pre-university option.

[edit] Tertiary

Tertiary education in the public universities is heavily subsidised by the government. Applicants to public universities must have completed the Malaysia matriculation programme or have an STPM grade. Excellence in these examinations does not guarantee a place in a public university due to government's quota policy. The selection criteria are largely opaque as no strictly enforced defined guidelines exist.

List of universities in Malaysia

In 2004, the government formed the Ministry of Higher Education to oversee tertiary education in Malaysia. Racial quotas for university admission exist in Malaysia, and the then minister Dr. Shafie Salleh was quoted to be pro-racial quotas.

Although the government announced a reduction of reliance of racial quotas in 2002, instead leaning more towards meritocracy. However, in 2004, 128 non-Malay or non-Bumiputra students with excellent results had their applications to study medicine at public universities denied. (See Issues in Malaysian Education)

Prior to 2004, all lecturers in public tertiary institutions were required to have some post-graduate award as a requisite qualification. In October of 2004, this requirement was removed and the Higher Education Ministry announced that industry professionals who added value to a course could apply for lecturing positions directly to universities even if they did not have postgraduate qualifications. To head off possible allegations that the universities faced a shortage of lecturers, Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Fu Ah Kiow said "This is not because we are facing a shortage of lecturers, but because this move will add value to our courses and enhance the name of our universities...Let’s say Bill Gates and Steven Spielberg, both well known and outstanding in their fields, want to be teaching professors. Of course, we would be more than happy to take them in." He went on to offer architecture as an example whereby well-known architects recognized for their talents did not have a masters degree.

Students also have the choice of attending private institutions of higher learning. Many of these institutions offer courses in cooperation with a foreign institute or university. Some of them are branch campuses of these foreign institutions.

Many private colleges offer programmes whereby the student does part of his degree course here and part of it in the other institution, this method is named "twinning". The nature of these programs is somewhat diverse and ranges from the full "twinning" program where all credits and transcripts are transferable and admission is automatic to programs where the local institution offers an "associate degree" which is accepted at the discretion of the partnering university. In the latter case, acceptance of transcripts and credits is at the discretion of the partner.

Some foreign universities and colleges have also set up branch campuses in Malaysia, including:

Monash University, Australia.
The University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
SAE Institute, Australia
Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Curtin University of Technology, Australia

The net outflow of academics from Malaysia led to a "brain gain" scheme by then (1995) Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamed. The scheme. set a target of attracting 5,000 talents annually. In 2004, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Datuk Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis in a parliamentary reply stated that the scheme attracted 94 scientists (24 Malaysians) in pharmacology, medicine, semi-conductor technology and engineering from abroad between 1995 and 2000. At the time of his reply, only one was remaining in Malaysia.

[edit] Postgraduate Programmes

Postgraduate degrees such as the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) are becoming popular and are offered by both the public universities and the private colleges.

All public and most private universities in Malaysia offer Master of Science degrees either through coursework or research and Doctor of Philosophy degrees through research.

[edit] Vocational Programmes and Polytechnics Schools

Besides the university degrees, students also have the option of continuing their education in professional courses such as the courses offered by the ICSA (Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators) etc. Polytechnics in Malaysia provide courses for diploma level (3 years) and certificate level (2 years).

The following is a list of the public polytechnics in Malaysia.

Ungku Omar Polytechnic
Politeknik Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah
Politeknik Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah
Politeknik Kota Bharu
Politeknik Kuching Sarawak
Politeknik Port Dickson
Politeknik Kota Kinabalu
Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah
Politeknik Johor Bahru
Politeknik Seberang Perai
Politeknik Kota, Melaka[4]
Politeknik Kota, Kuala Terengganu
Politeknik Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin
Politeknik Merlimau
Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah
Politeknik Kulim
Politeknik Sultan Idris Shah
Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin
Politeknik Muadzam Shah
Politeknik Mukah

Universities produce almost 150,000 skilled graduates annually.

[edit] Types of Schools in Malaysia

[edit] History

The Malay College at Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia.

Secular schools in Malaysia were largely an innovation of the British colonial government. There were two initial proposals for developing the national education system: the Barnes Report and the Fenn-Wu Report. The former proposal was implemented through the 1952 Education Ordinance.

Many of the earliest schools in Malaysia were started in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Melaka, and Singapore. The oldest school in Malaysia is the Penang Free School, founded in 1816, followed by Malacca High School. Many of these schools still carry with them an air of prestige although there is no formal difference between these schools and other schools.

British historian Richard O. Winstedt was concerned with the education of the Malays and he was instrumental in establishing Sultan Idris Training College. The college was established with the purpose of producing Malay teachers. R J Wilkinson, Winstedt predecessor on the other hand helped established the Malay College Kuala Kangsar in 1905 which aimed to educate the Malay elite.

Initially, the British colonial government did not provide for any Malay-medium secondary schools, forcing those who had studied in Malay during primary school to adjust to an English-medium secondary school. Many Malays opted to drop out instead.^[5] Despite complaints about this policy, the British Director of Education stated:

“

It would be contrary to the considered policy of government to afford to a community, the great majority of whose members find congenial livelihood and independence in agricultural pursuits, more extended facilities for the learning of English which would be likely to have the effect of inducing them to abandon those pursuits.^[6]

”

Malay representatives in the Federal Council as well as the Legislative Council of Singapore responded vehemently, with one calling the British policy "a policy that trains the Malay boy how not to get employment" by excluding the Malays from learning in the "bread-earning language of Malaya". He remarked:

“

In the fewest possible words, the Malay boy is told 'You have been trained to remain at the bottom, and there you must always remain!' Why, I ask, waste so much money to attain this end when without any vernacular school, and without any special effort, the Malay boy could himself accomplish this feat?^[7]

”

Eventually, to remedy this problem, the British established the Malay College Kuala Kangsar. However, it was mainly intended as a way to educate future low-level civil servants, and not as a means to opening the doors of commerce to the Malays — the school was never intended to prepare students for entrance to higher institutions of education.^[8]

[edit] Mission schools

Roman Catholic missionaries of the Josephian order also started a series of "mission schools" and many of these schools still stand and carry the names of various Roman Catholic saints. Due to government intolerance of non-Muslim views in the public space, none of these schools have brothers any more. There are also a series of convents which originally housed nuns but had a school attached to provide education to young girls. The education of young ladies at that time was considered very revolutionary. Similar to the brother schools, many of these convents no longer house nuns and so are convents in name only. The Lasallian Brothers also started a series of schools in Malaysia and Singapore. Some of these schools include St Xavier's in Penang, St Michael's in Ipoh, St Paul's in Seremban and St John's Institution in Kuala Lumpur. Most of these schools still have at least one Lasallian Brother as a Chairman of the Board of Governors.

The Methodist Church in Malaysia also established a set of mission schools and these schools carry the name ACS (Anglo-Chinese School) and MGS (Methodist Girls School). The Methodist schools still maintain a single private school called Methodist College. Mission schools are largely single gender institutions while most government schools are mixed gender schools.

The Anglican Church in Malaysia established a number of schools such as St Mary’s in Kuala Lumpur.

[edit] School uniforms

Malaysia introduced Western style school uniforms (pakaian seragam sekolah) in the late 19th century during the British colonial era. Today, school uniforms are almost universal in the public and private school systems. Public school uniforms are compulsory for all students and standardised nationwide.

[edit] Education and politics

Education is largely politicised in Malaysia to the extent that every Prime Minister, excluding the first Prime Minister (Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj), has at one time or another been the education minister.

The ruling political alliance is composed of ethnically based parties and one of the concessions allowed by the controlling Malay party is to allow the Chinese and Indian parties to start colleges.

In July 2006, Higher Education Deputy Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat stated that a review of the controversial Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) will be held among Malaysian MPs.^[9]

[edit] National Education Blueprint

In 2006, the National Education Blueprint 2006–10 was released. The Blueprint set a number of goals, such as establishing a National Pre-School Curriculum, setting up 100 new classes for students with special needs, increasing the percentage of single-session schools to 90% for primary schools and 70% for secondary schools, and decreasing class sizes from 31 to 30 students in primary schools and from 32 to 30 in secondary schools by the year 2010. The Blueprint also provided a number of statistics concerning weaknesses in education. According to the Blueprint, 10% of primary schools and 1.4% of secondary schools do not have a 24-hour electricity supply, 20% and 3.4% respectively do not have a public water supply, and 78% and 42% are over 30 years old and require refurbishing. It was also stated that 4.4% of primary students and 0.8% of secondary students had not mastered the 3Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic). The drop-out rate for secondary schools was given as 9.3% in urban areas and 16.7% in rural areas.^[10]

The Blueprint also aimed to address the problem of racial polarisation in schools. Under the Blueprint, schools will hold seminars on the Constitution of Malaysia, motivational camps to increase cultural awareness, food festivals to highlight different ethnic cooking styles, and essay competitions on different cultural traditions. Mandarin and Tamil language classes will be held in national schools, beginning with a pilot project in 220 schools in 2007.^[11]

The Blueprint has been subject to some criticism. Academic Khoo Kay Kim has criticised the plan, saying:

“

We do not need this blueprint to produce excellent students. What we need is a revival of the old education system... meaning the education system we had before 1957. That was when we saw dedication from the teachers. The Malaysian education system then was second to none in Asia. We did not have sports schools but we produced citizens who were Asian class, if not world class.^[12]

”

[edit] Issues in Malaysian Education

For more details on this topic, see Issues in Malaysian Education.

[edit] Language issues

The issue of language and schools is a key issue for many political groups in Malaysia. UMNO championed the cause of Malay usage in schools but private schools using the Chinese and Tamil language are allowed. Up until 1981 in Peninsular Malaysia (and some years later in Sarawak), there were also English-medium schools, set up by Christian missions. However, following the severe race riots in Kuala Lumpur in May 1969, English-medium schools were phased out from January 1970, so that by 1982 these became Malay-medium schools (‘national schools’).

The existence of vernacular schools is used by non-Malays components of the ruling Barisan Nasional to indicate that their culture and identity have not been infringed upon by the Malay people. This is often a key issue as it is considered important by many. Dong Jiao Zhong (the association of Chinese vernacular school boards and teachers) and other such organizations still shape much of the views of the Chinese educated community, which is a key electoral constituency.

In 2002, the government announced that from 2003 onwards, the teaching of Science and Mathematics would be done in English, in order to ensure that Malaysia will not be left behind in a world that was rapidly becoming globalized. This paved the way for the establishment of mixed-medium education.

Due to the lack of Chinese students attending government schools, coupled with the number of non-Chinese students attending Chinese vernacular schools, the government announced in April 2005 that all national schools will begin teaching Chinese and Tamil, not as mother tongue course but as elective course.

[edit] Gender issues and education

In 2004 the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) representative Dr. Richard Leete stated that Malaysia's ranking in the UNDP gender index was not "as high as it should be". Former Higher Education Minister Datuk Dr Shafie Salleh replied that it was not unique to Malaysia. His quoted statistics revealed that there was a 2:1 ratio of boys to girls in polytechnics and at public higher learning institutions. However it should be noted that in virtually all developed countries that both females and males enter university in approximately equal ratios, thus the 2:1 ratio in Malaysia is seen as rather peculiar when placed in a global context.

Malaysian polytechnics and community colleges are not degree producing institutions and none have post-graduate programmes. Most are vocational or technical institutions. This imbalance is corrected once the respective genders leave the educational system.

[edit] Racial polarisation in schools

Due to the existence of vernacular schools, there exist worries that students are not interacting enough with those of other races. The Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Rais Yatim said in an interview that racial polarisation existed due to the existence of national-type schools, and that national schools had failed due to the prevalence of Muslim rites.

[edit] The tuition phenomenon

The prevalence of tuition centres in urban areas of Malaysia is also an issue of growing concern. Students in urban areas generally go to tuition centres, due to pressure by parents to do well, or the students themselves being kiasu. The tuition industry is in itself extremely large, and was reported to be worth about RM 4 billion ^[13].

[edit] Racial Quota

The government introduced racial quota in Malaysia education system. The government gives more chance for Malays to get into public universities (IPTA), narrowing the chance of other races to get into it. Years ago there was a case where more than 100 of non-Malay top students who achieved well in STPM were rejected from certain public universities. Further researches showed that the universities were accepting more Malays than other races, although there are students who have better results and qualifications who were rejected by those IPTA, making it unfair to all other non-Malay students. This is the main reason many of Malaysia's top students are now working in Singapore after pursueing their postgraduate studies in Singapore.

[edit] Notes and references

^ Beech, Hannah (Oct. 30, 2006). Not the Retiring Type (page three). TIME.
^ "Experts: Go back to drawing board", p. 22. (Mar. 21, 2006). New Straits Times.
^ [1]
^ [2]
^ Puthucheary, Mavis (1978). The Politics of Administration: The Malaysian Experience, p. 9. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-580387-6.
^ Puthucheary, pp. 9–10.
^ Puthucheary, p. 10.
^ Puthucheary, pp. 10–11.
^ http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=14677
^ Koh, Lay Chin (Jan. 17, 2007). "Free hand for 'clusters' to excel", p. 12. New Straits Times.
^ "Enhancing racial unity in national schools", p. 13. (Jan. 17, 2007). New Straits Times.
^ "Review of curricula soon", p. 13. (Jan. 17, 2006). New Straits Times.
^ New Straits Times, December 24, 2006

[edit] References

"Country Facts - Malaysia". Retrieved Oct. 16, 2005.
"A Glimpse of History". Retrieved Oct. 16, 2005.
"PM Unveils Caring Budget, More New Measures To Perk Up Economy". (Sept. 30, 2005). Bernama.
Yusop, Husna (Oct. 16, 2005). Speaking of culture. The Sun.
Yusop, Husna (Mar. 9, 2006). Time to overhaul education system. Malaysia Today.
Tan, Peter K. W. (2005), ‘The medium-of-instruction debate in Malaysia: English as a Malaysian language?’, Problems & Language Planning 29: 1, pp. 47-66 The medium-of-instruction debate in Malaysia
[http://www.direc3.com/education Malaysia Universities & Colleges Listings / Links

[edit] External links

Malaysia Universities - THES Rankings 2004 /2006

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../e/d/u/Education_in_Malaysia_69d8.html"

Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Education in Malaysia