Malaysia

Partners situated in Malaysia

None.

Malaysia in a nutshell

Malaysia is a federation that consists of thirteen states and three federal territories in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of 329,847 square kilometres (127,355 sq mi). Malaysia borders Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines.

Source : http://www.cia.gov

The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government.

The population stands at over 27 million.

The country is separated into two regions — Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo — by the South China Sea. The country is located near the equator and experiences a tropical climate.

Malaysia's head of state is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the government is headed by a Prime Minister. The government is closely modeled after the Westminster parliamentary system.

Malays form the majority of the population of Malaysia. There are sizable Chinese and Indian communities as well.

The Malay language is the official language.

Though the Islamic religion is government funded, the country is secular according to the constitution set following independence.

Malaysia is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and participates in many international organisations such as the United Nations. As a former British colony, it is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is also a member of the Developing 8 Countries.

Malaysia education policy

Education in Malaysia is monitored by the federal government Ministry of Education.

Malaysia education system

Most Malaysian children start schooling between the ages of three to six, in kindergarten. Most kindergartens are run privately, but there are a few government-run kindergartens.

Children begin primary schooling at the age of seven for a period of six years. There are two major types of government-operated or government-assisted primary schools. The vernacular schools (Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan) use either Chinese or Tamil as the medium of teaching. Before progressing to the secondary level of education, pupils in Year 6 are required to sit for the Primary School Achievement Test (Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah, UPSR). A programme called First Level Assessment (Penilaian Tahap Satu, PTS) was used to measure the ability of bright pupils, and to allow them to move from Year 3 to 5, skipping Year 4. However, this programme was abolished in 2001.

Secondary education in Malaysia is conducted in secondary schools (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan) for five years. National secondary schools use Malay as the main medium of instruction. The only exceptions are the Mathematics and Science subjects as well as languages other than Malay, however this was only implemented in the year 2003, and before that all non-language subjects were taught in Malay. At the end of Form Three, which is the third year, students are evaluated in the Lower Secondary Assessment (Penilaian Menengah Rendah, PMR). In the final year of secondary education (Form Five), students sit for the Malaysian Certificate of Education (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, SPM) examination, which is equivalent to the former British Ordinary or 'O' Levels.

The oldest school in Malaysia is Penang Free School, also the oldest school in South East Asia.

Malaysian national secondary schools are sub-divided into several types, namely National Secondary School (Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan), Religious Secondary School (Sekolah Menengah Agama), National-Type Secondary School (Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan) which is also referred as Mission Schools, Technical Schools (Sekolah Menengah Teknik), Residential Schools and MARA Junior Science College (Maktab Rendah Sains MARA).

There are also 60 Chinese Independent High Schools in Malaysia, where most subjects are taught in Chinese. Chinese Independent High Schools are monitored and standardised by the United Chinese School Committees' Association of Malaysia (UCSCAM, more commonly referred to by its Chinese name, Dong Zong 董总), however, unlike government schools, every independent school is free to make its own decisions. Studying in independent schools takes 6 years to complete, divided into Junior Level (3 years) and Senior Level (3 years). Students will sit for a standardised test conducted by UCSCAM, which is known as the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) in Junior Middle 3 (equivalent to PMR) and Senior Middle 3 (equivalent to A level). A number of independent schools conduct classes in Malay and English in addition to Chinese, enabling the students to sit for the PMR and SPM as well.

Before the introduction of the matriculation system, students aiming to enter public universities had to complete an additional 18 months of secondary schooling in Form Six and sit for the Malaysian Higher School Certificate (Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia, STPM); equivalent to the British Advanced or 'A' levels. Since the introduction of the matriculation programme as an alternative to STPM in 1999, students who completed the 12-month programme in matriculation colleges (kolej matrikulasi in Malay) can enrol in local universities. However, in the matriculation system, only 10% of the places are open to non-Bumiputra students while the rest are reserved for Bumiputra students.

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), Lycée Français de Kuala Lumpur (French Curriculum) amongst others.

Higher education

Universities in Malaysia

Some of the public universities are:

1. University of Malaya
2. Universiti Sains Malaysia
3. Universiti Putra Malaysia
4. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
5. Universiti Teknologi MARA
6. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Private universities are also gaining enough reputation for international quality education and many students from all over the world are attracted to these universities. These include:

1. Multimedia University
2. Universiti Teknologi Petronas

In addition, four international reputable universities have set up their branch campuses in Malaysia since 1998. A branch campus can be seen as an "offshore campus" of the foreign university, which offers the same courses and awards as the main campus. Both local and international students can acquire these identical foreign qualifications in Malaysia at a lower fee. The foreign university branch campuses in Malaysia are:

1. Monash University Malaysia Campus
2. Curtin University of Technology Sarawak Campus
3. Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus
4. University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus.

Malaysian students abroad study mostly in the UK, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, Japan and Middle East countries such as Jordan and Egypt.

Polytechnics in Malaysia

Students also have the option of enrolling in private tertiary institutions after secondary studies. Most institutions have educational links with overseas universities especially in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, allowing students to spend a portion of their course duration abroad as well as getting overseas qualifications. One such example is SEGi College which partnered with University of Abertay Dundee.

Virtual Campuses in HE

Interesting Virtual Campus Initiatives

These include

1. Multimedia University
2. Open University of Malaysia (UNITEM).
3. Universiti Sains Malaysia
4. Universiti Teknologi MARA
5. Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNITAR)
6. Wawasan Open University

Re.ViCa Case-study

None.

References

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For OER policies and projects in Malaysia see Malaysia/OER

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