EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA

Mustafa Ergn

Today, Malaysia has one of the best airports,

highways and telecommunication systems in Asia.
Singapur, 1965 ylnda federasyondan
ayrlmtr.
Malaysias History

Malacca was founded in the 13th century by a Sumatran

prince. It became the most influential port city in Southeast
Asia during this time.
The early Arab traders brought Islam to Malacca.
In 1511, a Portuguese fleet led by Alfonso de Albuquerque
sailed into Malacca harbour and captured the city with
canon fire.
A century later in 1641, the Dutch captured the city from
the Portuguese and controlled the spice trade.
In 1819 British administration replaced the Dutch and
established a trading post in Singapore. Together with
Penang and Malacca these centres became known as the
Straits Settlements.

Independence in 1957
The British granted independence to Malaya in 1957 in
Kuala Lumpur's Merdeka Square.
2006 saymlarna gre Malezya'nn nfusu 26,640,000'dir.
Bunlarn 5.44 Milyonu Dou Malezya ve 21.2 milyonu Bat
Malezya'da yaamaktadr.
Halkn 50.4%'si Malay, 23.7%' inli, 11%'i Yerli, 7.1%'i Hint ve
7.8%'i dier etnik gruplardr.
slam: 68.4%, Budizm: 10.2%, Hristiyanlk: 9.1%, Hindu: 6.3%,
Konfyslk/Taoizm/in dinleri: 2.6%, Dier (Sihizm,
amanizm, Bahailik, Animizm vb.):2.4%.
Malezya'da birinci snf vatanda anlamna gelen
Bumiputra'lar Vergi demez, niversite'ye snavsz
girer.lkede yaayan aznlk Bumiputra
olamaz.Bumiputra'lar sadece Malay'lar arasndan kar.
Malezya krallkla ynetilen ve ok partili demokratik sisteme
dayal bir konfederasyondur. Konfederasyonu oluturan
federal eyaletler de krallkla ynetilir.
Many of the earliest schools in Malaysia were started
in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Melaka, and
Singapore. The oldest English school in Malaya is the
Penang Free School, founded in 1816, followed by
Malacca High School, and Anglo Chinese School,
Klang.

Sultan Idris Training College was established with the

purpose of producing Malay teachers. R.J.Wilkinson
helped established the Malay College Kuala Kangsar in
1905 which aimed to educate the Malay elite.
Malay and English are compulsory subjects in all
schools.

Starting in 2003, the government introduced the use

of English as a medium of teaching in all science
subjects, criticised by some as creating
discrimination between students who are and who
are not fluent in English. This was later revoked and
Malay, Chinese and Tamil will once again be the
languages of instruction for the sciences in 2012.
The Malaysian National Education System comprises of the following levels of
education:
Pre-school / Kindergarten education for children aged 4 to 6
Primary education from age 7 to 1 2 (Standard 1 to Standard 6 for 6 years)

Secondary education from age 13 to 17 (Form 1 to Form 5 for 5 years)

1) Lower secondary from age 13 to 15 (Form 1 to Form 3 for 3 years)
2) Upper secondary from age 16 to 17 (Form 4 to Form 5 for 2 years) with the
option to choose either: a) Academic secondary education b) or
Technical/Vocational secondary education c) or Religious secondary education

Post-secondary education / Pre-university from age 18 (for 1 to 2 years) either

Form Six (for 1.5 years) or Matriculation (for 1 year)

Tertiary / Higher education

a) Certificate and Diploma Education at Polytechnics / Colleges from age 18
onwards
b) Education at Teacher Training Institutes from age 18 onwards
c) Undergraduate studies from age 19 or 20 (for 3 to 5 years)
d) Postgraduate studies [Master's Degree or Ph.D studies, after acquiring a
Bachelor's degree] (for 1 to 5 years)
There are two main types of public primary schools in
Malaysia: national and national-type.

National-type schools are further divided into

Chinese national-type schools and Tamil national-
type schools.

By degree of government funding, national schools

are government-operated, while national-type
schools are mostly government-assisted, though
some are government-operated.
Primary education consists of six years of education,
referred to as Year 1 to Year 6. Year 1 to Year 3 are
classified as Level One while Year 4 to Year 6 are
considered as Level Two. Primary education begins at
the age of 7 and ends at 12.

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.
 In other Asian countries such as Singapore and China, standardised
tests are a common feature, contributing to the high numbers of school
dropouts.

Public secondary schools are regarded as extensions of the

national schools. They study in five forms. Each form will
take a year.
At the end of Form 3, the Penilaian Menengah Rendah or
Lower Certificate of Education or Lower Secondary
Evaluation is taken by students.
Based on choice, they will be streamed into either the
Science stream or Arts stream.
Co-curricular activities are compulsory at the
secondary level, where all students must participate
in at least 2 activities. There are many co-curricular
activities offered at the secondary level.
Co-curricular activities are often categorized under
the following: Uniformed Groups, Performing Arts,
Clubs & Societies, Sports & Games.
Student may also participate in more than 2 co-
curricular activities.

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.
After receiving primary education in national-type primary school, some
students from SJK(C) may choose to study in Chinese independent high school.
Students in Chinese independent high school study in three junior middle
levels and three senior middle levels, similar to the secondary schools systems
in mainland China and Taiwan, each level usually takes one year.

Students in Chinese independent high schools take standardized tests known

as the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) at the end of Junior Middle 3 and
Senior Middle 3.

UEC-SML is recognised as the entrance qualification in many tertiary

educational institutions internationally like Singapore, Australia, Taiwan, China
and some European countries, as well as most private colleges in Malaysia.
After the SPM, students from public secondary school 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. STPM is regulated by the
Malaysian Examinations Council.

Form 6 consists of two years of study which is known as Lower

6 and Upper 6. The STPM 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.
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.

(almost 70% of the students comprise matriculation

students)
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.
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.

Universities in Malaysia
are generally
categorized as public
(13) and private
universities (9). Private
universities include
Malaysian branches
and campuses of
foreign universities.
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.

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
Raffles Design Institute, Singapore
In addition to the Malaysian National Curriculum, Malaysia has many
international schools. International schools offer students the opportunity to
study the curriculum of another country. These schools mainly cater to the
growing expatriate population in the country. International schools include:
the Australian International School, Malaysia (Australian curriculum), The Alice
Smith School (British Curriculum), elc International school (British Curriculum),
The Garden International School (British Curriculum), Lodge International
School (British Curriculum), The International School of Kuala Lumpur
(International Baccalaureate and American Curriculum), The Japanese School
of Kuala Lumpur (Japanese Curriculum), The Chinese Taipei School, Kuala
Lumpur and The Chinese Taipei School, Penang (Taiwanese Curriculum), The
International School of Penang (International Baccalaureate and British
Curriculum), Dalat International School in Penang (American Curriculum),
Lyce Franais de Kuala Lumpur (French Curriculum), Horizon International
Turkish School amongst others.
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.