EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA

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.

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 nationaltype 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 cocurricular 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 nonbumiputeras. 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.