EDUCATIONAL

SYSTEM
OF
MALAYSIA
 PHILIPPINES MALAYSIA
Area 299, 764 sq. km / 115, 839 sq. mi 329,845 sq. km / 127, 354 sq. mi

Local Name Republika ng Pilipinas Persekutuan Tanah Melaysiu

Currency Philippine peso Ringgit

Political System Presidential Democratic Republic Federal Constitutional Monarchy

Population 91, 983, 000 28, 310, 000
Languages Filipino and English Malay
28.1% Tagalog, 13.1% Cebuano, 9% 54% Malay, 25% Chinese,
Ilocano, 7.6% Bisaya/Binisaya, 7.5% 7.5% Indian,
Ethnic Groups Hiligaynon Ilonggo, 6% Bikol, 3.4% 11.8% other Bumiputera
Waray, and 25.3% are classified as 1.7% other
other
80% Roman Catholic, 10% other 60.4% Muslim, 19.2% Buddhism,
Religions Christian Denominations 19.1% Christianity, 6.3%
and 10% Muslim Hinduism, and 2.6% other
traditional Chinese religions
 Geographical Location
Located between 20 and 70 north of
Equator. Peninsular Malaysia is
separated from the states of Sabah
and Sarawak by the South China Sea.
To the north of Peninsular Malaysia is
Thailand while its southern neighbor is
Singapore. Sabah and Sarawak are
bounded by Indonesia while Sarawak
also shares a border with Brunei.
 About Malaysia
Malaysia is well-endowed with natural
resources in areas such as agriculture,
forestry and minerals. In terms of
agriculture, Malaysia is one of the top
exporters of natural rubber and palm oil,
which together with sawn logs and sawn
timber, cocoa, pepper, pineapple and
tobacco dominate the growth of the
sector. Palm oil is also a major generator
of foreign exchange.
 Tin and petroleum are the two main
mineral resources that are of major
significance in the Malaysian economy.
Malaysia was once the world's largest
producer of tin until the collapse of the
tin market in the early 1980s. In the 19th
and 20th centuries, tin played a
predominant role in the Malaysian
economy. It was only in 1972 that
petroleum and natural gas took over
from tin as the mainstay of the mineral
Government

Malaysia is a federal constitutional

elective monarchy. The federal head
of state of Malaysia is the Yang di-
Pertuan Agong, commonly referred to
as the King of Malaysia. The Yang di-
Pertuan Agong is elected to a five-year
term among the nine hereditary
Sultans of the Malay states; the other
four states, which have titular
Governors, do not participate in the
selection.
 Legislative power is divided
between federal and state
legislatures. The bicameral
parliament consists of the lower
house, the House of Representatives
or Dewan Rakyat (literally the
"Chamber of the People") and the
upper house, the Senate or Dewan
Negara (literally the "Chamber of
the Nation").
 Executive power is vested in the
cabinet led by the prime minister; the
Malaysian constitution stipulates that
the prime minister must be a member
of the lower house of parliament who,
in the opinion of the Yang di-Pertuan
Agong, commands a majority in
parliament. The cabinet is chosen from
among members of both houses of
Parliament and is responsible to that
body.
Administrative divisions
Administratively, Malaysia consists of
13 states (11 in peninsular Malaysia and
2 in Malaysian Borneo) and 3 federal
territories. Each state is further divided
into districts (daerah or jajahan in
Kelantan) and a subdivision of a district
is called mukim. As Malaysia is a
federation, the governance of the
country is divided between the federal
and the state governments.
EDUCATION
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.
Primary Education
There are two main types of public primary
schools in Malaysia: national (Sekolah
Kebangsaan in Malay, abbreviated as SK)
and national-type (Sekolah Jenis
Kebangsaan, abbreviated as SJK).
National-type schools are further divided
into Chinese national-type schools (Sekolah
Jenis Kebangsaan Cina, SJK(C)) and Tamil
national-type schools (Sekolah Jenis
KebangsaanTamil, SJK(T)).
 Primary education begins at the age of
7 and ends at 12. Students are
promoted to the next year regardless
of their academic performance (poor
curriculum induced).
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
(also known as Standard 1 to Standard 6).
Year 1 to Year 3 are classified as Level One
(Tahap Satu) while Year 4 to Year 6 are
considered as Level Two (Tahap Dua).
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.
Secondary Education
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,
Malaysian national secondary schools are sub-divided
into several types:
1. National Secondary School (Sekolah Menengah
Kebangsaan)
2. Religious Secondary School (Sekolah Menengah
Agama)
3. National-Type Secondary School (Sekolah
Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan)
4. Technical Schools (Sekolah Menengah Teknik)
5. Residential Schools and MARA Junior Science
College (Maktab Rendah Sains MARA).
Pre-University
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 (which is
usually abbreviated as STPM) or
Malaysian Higher School Certificate
examination
Form 6 consists of two years of study

1. Lower 6 (Tingkatan Enam Rendah)

2. Upper 6 (Tingkatan Enam Atas)

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.
Tertiary education
Tertiary Eduication 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.
 The classification of tertiary
education in Malaysia is
organised upon the Malaysian
Qualifications Framework
(MQF) which seeks to set up a
unified system of post
secondary qualifications offered
on a national basis both in the
vocational as well as higher
educational sectors.
 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
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.
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).
Other types of Schools

Islamic religious schools

Chinese independent high

schools

International schools