Philosophy in Education

1.0

Introduction

The goal of making Malaysia a developed nation by the year 2020 can be implemented
through the full development of human resources. The process of developing human
resources must also be total or comprehensive. In other words, we must ensure that there is
no any group in our country that drops out or ignores in the process.
The Malaysian school system aspires to halve the socio-economic, urban-rural and gender
achievement gaps in student outcomes by 2020. The reduction of the socio-economic and
urban-rural gaps are expected to also impact the achievement gaps between states and
school types. Achieving this reduction would make Malaysia one of the more equitable
systems in the world. Therefore, Malaysia has introduced democratization in education
which emphasizes equality for all students in the country.
Dewey (1966), democratization of education means opportunities provided for everyone to
succeed in education and use education as a tool to success in life and enjoy a better quality
of life.
1.1

Definition

Equality means the state of being equal, especially in status, right, or opportunities. (Oxford
Online Dictionary).
Education means the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a
school or university. (Oxford Online Dictionary).
In the context of education in Malaysia, equality in education refers to the equality of access
in education and equality of output in education. All students regardless of background have
the right to receive a quality education that can improve their potential as high as possible.

2.0

Equality

Since independence, equity has been a goal of the Malaysian education system. In the
aspect of equality in education, individuals are given equal opportunities to education and
the right to choose which school to learn regardless of their economic status, social,
privilege, gender, race, religion or background.

2.1

Various types of schools

The existence of private educational institutions and various types of schools, SK, SKJ (C),
SKJ (T) and so on are parts of the agenda of democratization of education that gives a wide
range of choices for the pupils. In the secondary level, there are Ordinary

Secondary

school, technical and vocational high school. In addition, there are also private institutions in
the Malaysian Education System and now covers all levels of education. The system also
allows the establishment of religious schools (sekolah pondok) as an option to get education.
According to Pierre Bourdieu (1930), a French sociologist of education, individuals school
performance is closely linked to the cultural background of his parents. The educational level
of the parents is more important to the performance of their child. This issue may also
increase community awareness on education as well as recent developments and thus
raises their interest in their childrens education.
2.2

Educational Support

The government also introduces free education or not subject to any payment, to strengthen
the implementation of the equality in education, the government gives Skim Pinjaman Buku
Teks (SPBT), Rancangan Makanan Tambahan Sekolah (RMTS), KWAPM, hostel food
assistance, life jackets, monthly allowance for disabled students and award of scholarships
by the Ministry of Education and other agencies to qualified students so that poverty is not
an excuse for a person to get a proper education.
According to the Theory of Poverty Culture by Oscar Lewis, environment or culture that is
not perfect and unfavourable makes someone has no aspiration, motivation, have a low
value, poor language and bad attitude. This in turn makes a person physically and mentally
weak, and fails in their studies. Saifudin Hj. Masduki (1977) found a significant correlation
between the academic achievement with the parental income and the education level of the
parents.
2.3

Students with special needs

The existing education system does not forgetting or neglecting the disadvantaged children.
In other words, the blind, deaf and dumb, and Down syndrome kids also deprived of
education in this country. They also follow the same curriculum and public examinations that
are equivalent to the normal students.
Students with special needs are addressed as soon as possible so that they are not
marginalized from the mainstream initial education. Environmental and behavioural

modification is the method to deal with this group. Teachers have to prepare a social training
programme for ADHD pupils so that they could continue their studies and compete with the
other normal pupils.
2.4

Boarding Schools

One of the design efforts for the equality in education is the establishment of secondary
boarding schools. The main goal of its establishment is to provide an opportunity to enjoy a
quality education in particular to students who have the potential and excellence within the
poor children's families of the rural areas. For example Sekolah Menengah Sains Cheras is
used as a boarding school for children of poor families.
2.5

Smart School Programme

The digital gap exists in access to ICT facilities between locations and ICT skills among
teachers. To overcome this problem the government has introduced a smart school program
and provides computer labs or computer rooms equipped with hardware to schools in rural
areas. Schools are also networked with the SchoolNet broadband access.

Reflection
Governments have taken various steps to provide equal opportunities to students in
Malaysia. There are differences in the primary education level, where students could choose
to study in any schools like SK, SJK(T), or SJK(C). This issue should not be raised because
they are in line with the approach and implementation of education democratization agenda.
This can be clearly understood if we take into consideration of the multiracial factor. There
are differences, but it still based on the same basic curriculum and practice.
Education now has been extended to 11 years, though not automatically, but it is much
easier and looser than before. Now, with the minimum result a student can pursue formal
education to form four and it is in line with the recommendations made by the Cabinet
Committee Review of the Education Implementation Policy, 1979.
However, in the Integration Class for Special Need Pupils, they have to follow the same
curriculum and public examinations that are equivalent to normal pupils even though their
abilities are lower. The government should have revised the curriculum for this category so
that they are able to follow according to their abilities.
The increasing of private educational institutions and offering various courses is a part of the
equality in education agendas. Indeed, the opportunities and education facilities offered by

the private educational institutions today are a continuation and a complement to the existing
education system.
The government is developing and improving the rural education infrastructure such as
facilities for teaching and learning, hostels, School Resource Centre, computer, qualified
teachers and so on.
It is important that the quotas for children among the poor families are established to ensure
that the students are qualified to study the in full boarding schools. Then, the remaining
amount is devoted to students who obtain high achievement in academic and extracurricular
regardless the background of the family.
4.0

Conclusion

Although in terms of the approach, implementation and equality in education practice in

Malaysia is on the right track, we must not be satisfied quickly. There are still aspects to be
assessed and improved for the benefit of all parties. Education is a dynamic process.
Instead, we live in a world full of challenges and competition. In the context of our country,
the competition is mainly between urban and rural areas and among ethnic groups. Our task
is to make sure that we use the opportunities provided by wisely and achieve the goal
successfully. However, the human resource development through our education system
must ensure that the approach, implementation and practice are in accordance with our own
mould that is based on the educational goal.

Bibliography
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Tanjung Malim.
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Philosophy, Politics and Society, Oxford.
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Kuala Lumpur.
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