Malaysia: Education and Policy

direction in the New Millenium

A report by: Ms. Ramilyn A. Somollo

 Rukum Negara
• Rukum Negara is Bahasa for National
Policy
• According to the Minisrty of Education of
Malaysia the national educational
philosophy or NEP is encapsulated in this
statement:
 Rukum Negara
• “Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards
further developing the potential of individuals in a
holistic and integrated manner, so as to produce
individuals who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally
and physically balanced and harmonious based on a firm
belief in and devotion to God. Such an effort is designed
to produce Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable
and competent, who possess high moral standards and
who are responsible and capable of achieving a high
level of personal well-being as well as being able to
contribute to the betterment of the family, society and
the nation at large”
 Rukum Negara
• The NEP was tailored in accordance with
the needs of individual citizens, family,
society in the country as a whole.
• The unity and betterment of its citizen
was one of basic consideration of NEP.
 Rukum Negara
• There are six fundamental factors that
guide the NEP they are
• religion
• social fabrics
• politics,
• economy
• individuality
• globalization
 Rukum Negara
• Specifically the role of the NEP are:
(a) Provide guidance and direction to the efforts to expand and
improve education;
(b) As basic policy and consideration for determining the national
education goals;
(c) As a reference for educators (local or overseas) to understand the
educational system in Malaysia;
(d) As a guidance for educators to perform educational tasks;
(e) As the basis and foundation for determining the curriculum,
teaching materials and learning and teaching
strategies;
 Rukum Negara
(f) As controller on distortion of education policy activities and to
eliminate misunderstandings, doubts or
disputes while putting effort to perform educational tasks or activities;
(g) To avoid any inconvenience that may arise during implementation
of a particular curriculum or its
component;
(h) As basic considerations while planning for the reform or change in
the education system.
Asas Undang-Undang
(Legal Basis of the Educational
System with brief historical
overview)
 Barnes Report 1951
• Aimed at abolishing vernacular schools

• “In principle, we recommend the end of the

separate vernacular schools for the several
racial communities, and the replacement by a
single type of primary school common to all…”
 Abdul Razak Report 1956
• Introduced after the ruling elite had acquired political
power just before Merdeka
• Conducive to the growth of vernacular education

• “… a national system of education acceptable to the

people of the Federation as a whole which will satisfy the
needs to promote their culture, social, economic and
political development as a nation, having regard to the
intention of making Malay the national language of the
country whilst preserving and sustaining the growth of
the language and culture of other communities living in
the country.”
 Education Ordinance 1957
• The fine tuned version of the recommendations of the
Abdul Razak report

 Formation of a single system of national education

 Recognition of the eventual objective of making Bahasa

Malaysia the main medium of instruction

 Commencement of a Malaysia-orientated curriculum

 Conception of a single system of evaluation for all

 Rahman Talib Report 1960
• 1960’s education minister who headed a
committee to:

“review the education policy set out in the

Abdul Razak Report 1956… in particular its
implementation so far and for the
future…”
 Education Act 1961
 Stress on 3R basic education . reading, writing and arithmetic

 Stress on a strong spiritual education and the desired elements of

discipline

 Stress on a Malaysian curriculum

 Upper secondary education of two streams, academic and

vocational

 Opportunity to continue education from 9 years to 11 years

 Facilitation of education management procedures to improve the

overall quality of education
 Education Act 1996
• Came into force in 1997, replacing the
1961 Act
• Stress on science and technology
• “[The world now is] a world that is highly
competitive and globalised, arising from
the impact of the rapid development in
science, technology and information.”
 Legal Basis
• The Education Act 1996 (Act 550, Laws of
Malaysia) provides the fundamental basis for
curriculum policies in Malaysia. t indicates the
specific laws and provisions that give direction to
curriculum documents. These regulations are
mandatory for all schools and is expressed
through the Ministry of Education and the NEP.
Struktur Organisasi

Organizational Structure, Governance and

Operational Management
 Struktur Organisasi
• Malaysia’s system of curriculum development is centralized.

The central agency is the Curriculum Development Centre

(CDC), is responsible for initiating curriculum development.
The CDC is responsible for the development of the pre-
school, primary school and secondary school curriculum. In
the implementation of the curriculum, however, various
committees have been set up in the Ministry of Education,
State Education Departments, Divisions/District Education
Offices and schools.
 Educational Planning Committee. (Secretariat:
Educational
Planning and Research Division, Ministry of
Education.)

• to approve and formulate the major

policies in the Ministry of Education;
• to consider all projects related to policy
matters
 Central Curriculum Committee. (Secretariat: Central
Curriculum Committee, Ministry of Education.)

• to formulate curriculum policies, as well as study their

implications;
• to determine the direction of curriculum development
and co-ordinate efforts to achieve this goal;
• to consider and make recommendations concerning
education planning and implementation, as well as to
present these findings to the Educational Planning
Committee;
• to study the implications of curriculum programmes and
to make decisions accordingly;
• to determine aspects which require research and study.
 Curriculum Implementation Committee. (Secretariat:
Central Curriculum Committee, Ministry of Education.)

• responsible for co-ordinating all levels of preparation in

implementing any curriculum programmes approved by
the Central Curriculum Committee;
• to ensure co-ordination between the divisions of the
Ministry and the State Education Departments in the
implementation of the curriculum;
• to gather feedback on curriculum implementation at the
State, division/district and school levels;
• to organize forums to discuss successful innovative
programmes implemented at the State level.
 State Curriculum
Committee
• to monitor, assess and guide principals, headmasters and teachers in
the implementation of the curriculum;
• to gather and analyze information and take the necessary follow-up
action;
• to co-ordinate the implementation of activities between policy
makers and implementers at the Ministry, division/district and
school levels;
• to co-ordinate the use of resources for curriculum implementation;
• to plan, manage and co-ordinate courses organized for teachers by
the State Education Department;
• to plan, manage and implement innovative projects;
• to improve professionalism among teachers.
 Division/District
Curriculum Committee.
• to plan activities and curriculum
implementation strategies at
division/district levels;
• to arrange and organize courses and
seminars to disseminate the latest
information to teachers and all personnel
concerned;
• to advise and guide teachers in curriculum
implementation;
 Division/District
Curriculum Committee.
• to monitor, supervise and evaluate the
implementation of the curriculum;
• to provide feedback to the higher
authorities on the implementation of the
curriculum;
• to plan, manage and implement innovative
projects at the division/district levels.
 School Curriculum
Committee
• to plan, organize and evaluate
teaching/learning activities in schools;
• to work towards increasing the knowledge
and competence of teachers and students;
• to study the suitability of the subject
content and inform parties concerned;
• to study, evaluate and determine the
suitability of textbooks or other materials;
 School Curriculum
Committee
• to assess the scheme of work;
• to assess pupil performance and to
identify follow-up action;
• to plan and conduct in-house training
programmes for all teachers;
• to disseminate information to all teachers
on the latest progress and development in
education;
 School Curriculum
Committee
• to produce more educational resource
materials in schools;
• to identify suitability of educational
electronic media programmes in teaching-
learning activities;
• to co-operate in the on-going assessment
in schools;
• to co-ordinate additional learning
activities.
Sokongan Kewangan
Financial Support (based on the 2016
Budget Speech of YAB DATO’ SRI
MOHD NAJIB TUN HAJI ABDUL RAZAK
for the year 2017
PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF
FINANCE
 Sokongan Kewangan
• RM4.6 billion allocated to TVET institutions, in
line with the MOHE’s prediction that the demand
for TVET workers will increase to 1.3 million by
2020
• RM4.3 billion allocated for scholarships 10%-
15% discounts on PTPTN loan returns, to
encourage loan repayment
• RM7.4 billion allocated to 20 public universities,
inclusive of RM1.4 billion for four university
hospitals and RM300 million for research
universities
 Sokongan Kewangan
• BB1M vouchers to be replaced with RM250-
worth student debit cards for more flexibility and
feasibility
• RM570 million allocated to reconstruct destitute
schools, RM478 million for the construction of
new schools throughout the country
• RM90 million allocated for the improvement and
expanding English Language proficiency through
a variety of programmes
Sokongan Kewangan
RM13.89 billion
1 Malaysian Ringgit is P12.29
or
170.7081Billion in Philippine Peso
Jaminan kualiti
Quality Assurance
 Jaminan kualiti
• Centralized examinations are held at the
end of Year VI, Form III and Form V. The
results of these examinations are used to
evaluate the effectiveness of the
curriculum. Examination results also
provide feedback to the planners to
improve students’ achievement.
Exhibit A.
Exhibit B.
Exhibit C.
Exhibit D.
 Pembaharuan
Pendidikan
Educational Reforms, Policies and
Development
 Reformed
Curriculum
• Prime Minister Najib Razak said, that starting
January 2017, Computational Thinking and
Computer Science will be integrated into the
new Standard Based Curriculum for Primary
Schools (KSSR) and Standard Based
Curriculum for Secondary Schools (KSSM) in
phases.
• (The revamped) KSSR and KSSM, which will
be introduced next year, are a stepping stone
in the preparation of a fast-track system for
students who meet (certain) standards earlier
than others,” said Director General, Ministry of
Education Malaysia.
 Reformed
Curriculum
• “What will change is the pedagogy of
instruction and assessment, which will no
longer focus only on central examinations,
like Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Ujian
Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), but
also on school assessment, co-curriculum,
physical health, sports and talent.”
 New Primary and Secondary
Curricula
• Higher order thinking skills
• Project-based
• ICT games-based
• Minimise content overlap with other subjects
& post-secondary
 National and School-Based
Assessment
• Increase the proportion of questions that
focus on creative and
• problem-solving skills
• Data interpretation and evaluation
• Reintroduce from 2016 onwards, the science
practical testing elements
 Sharpening Skills and Abilities of
Teachers
• Diagnostic exercise to identify gaps in
content knowledge and pedagogical skills
among teachers
• Identify gaps in content knowledge and
pedagogy
• Tailored professional development School
Improvement Specialist Coaches (SISC+) for
Mathematics and Science
Blended Learning Open Source for
Science or Mathematics Studies
(BLOSSOMS)
• Integration of face-to-face and ICT instruction
Deploys new instructional strategies and
pedagogical approaches
• Students utilize adaptive learning software to
learn at their own pace, and through their
preferred learning style Teachers then
analyse the resultant data from the software
to identify areas where students require extra
coaching
Malaysia Education Blueprint
(MEB)
• The curriculum will still stress on student-
centred and differentiated teaching, but it
will have a greater emphasis on problem-
based and project-based work, a
streamlined set of subjects or themes and
formative assessments.
• The Malaysian school system also aims to
introduce an “accelerated learning
pathway” for high-performing students.
SEAMLESS…

From Primary to
Tertiary
Education
 The MEB sets out clear system
and student aspirations

System
aspirations
Access Quality Equity Unity Efficiency

Student
aspirations
Malaysian Education System
 STEM
Education
• The Malaysian Prime Minister said the country hoped
to achieve the ratio of 60:40 for youth interested in
STEM as compared to non-STEM education careers.
– To develop policies and prospects toward achieving
International Standard and meeting National Development
Needs

 STEM Initiative in Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-

2025
Aims:
• Prepare students with the skills to meet the science
and technology challenges.
• To ensure that Malaysia has a sufficient number of
qualified STEM graduates.
 Measures undertaken in STEM
Initiative
• Raising student interests through new
learning approaches and an enhanced
curriculum
• Sharpening skills and abilities of teachers
• Building public and student awareness
 PHASE 5
WAY FORWARD
EDUCATION 2014-2020

STEM focussed schools- STEM

PHASE 3
PHASE
OUTREACH
4 Co-Curriculum
PROMGaRyA/MJune Young STEM researchers
ToT &
PHASE 2
ToT & PILOT
PIFLeObT2014
2014
STEM teacher s’ training
PHASE 1 Sept Science Conclave
BENCHMARKIN2G013
March
2013 Young Scientist Summer
Program
 STEM EDUCATION FRAMEWORK IN
MALAYSIA Challenge
and
prepare

Nurture / Make Developing and Enhancing

inspire connections/ building STEM skills STEM Skills
interest build foundations IHL: Degree Masters PhD

Pre-School Primary Secondary Pre-Tertiary

STEM
Teacher TVET: Degree Diploma Certificate
Training
with
NYAS
Nobelist Mindset
program Young scientist Science
Summer Camp Conclave

Nobelist Summer Laureate in

Mindset Science Residence Program
Workshop Institute at NY
 10 SHIFTS 1 2 3 5 6 7 8 9 10
4
SHIFT 4: Quality
TVET Graduates
Increase capacity, Industry- New Increase
quality and levels led Collaborative enrolment
Models
curriculum 2.5X
Enrolment 2012 250K Enrolment 2025 650K

TVET is a premier lane

in Malaysia
 Campaigns

• Educate the public about the diversity of

career opportunities in STEM
• Encourage more students to select STEM
subjects
• STEM education plays a big role as the
catalyst to meet the challenges and demands
of our present and future economy
Isu Pendidikan
Educational issues and how they
are addressed
 Isu Pendidikan
• Enrollment
Enrollments at the primary and lower
secondary levels are nearly universal in
Malaysia and recent gains in pre-primary
education have been noteworthy, according
to a recent report from the World Bank.
However, relatively few students continue on
to complete postsecondary education.
 Isu Pendidikan
• Education Blueprint- Transforming
wholism to knowledge-based education
How is it addressed?
Increasing compulsory schooling from six to 11 years.
The introduction of a Secondary School Standard
Curriculum or Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Menengah
(KSSM) and revised Primary School Standard Curriculum or
Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah (KSSR) in 2017 with
greater emphasis on promoting knowledge and skills such
as creative thinking, innovation, problem-solving and
leadership.
 Isu Pendidikan
How is it addressed?
-The introduction of clear learning standards so that
students and parents understand the progress expected
within each year of schooling.
-The introduction of English as a compulsory subject within
the school leaving examination (SPM) from 2016, and an
additional language by 2025.
 Isu Pendidikan
Language of Instruction

Bahasa Melayu is the primary language of instruction in

Malaysian public schools. In 2003, the government
introduced a policy of using English as the language of
instruction for science and mathematics; however, this
policy was discontinued in 2011. English is taught as a
second language in both primary and secondary schools. In
Chinese and Tamil national-type primary schools, Bahasa
Melayu is taught as a second language and English is
taught as a third language.
 Isu Pendidikan
Transformative education geared to
employment
Current educational system is geared
towards being a responsible citizen.
However, part of being a responsible citizen
is to also be able to contribute so social and
economic growth. The MEB 2015-2025 is
geared to shift from classroom to work
room.
 References
• https://wenr.wes.org/2014/12/education-in-malaysia
• https://apaiearc.nsysu.edu.tw/PPT/PPT_Malaysia.pdf
• https://www.easyuni.my/en/advice/malaysia-pours-rm13-89-billion-into-
education-budget-2195/
• http://www.pmo.gov.my/bajet2017/Budget2017.pdf
• http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/924/Malaysia-EDUCATIONAL-
SYSTEM-OVERVIEW.html
• http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/932/Malaysia.html
• http://www.ibe.unesco.org/curriculum/Asia%20Networkpdf/ndrepmy.pdf
• http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Malaysia/sub5_4d/entry-
3684.html#chapter-2
• https://www.moe.gov.my/index.php/en/dasar/pelan-pembangunan-
pendidikan-malaysia-2013-2025
• https://www.moe.gov.my/index.php/en/dasar/falsafah-pendidikan-
kebangsaan