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Practical
Information
Malaysia's System of Education
by Robert
Sedgwick
Editor, eWENR
Despite
the recent proliferation of privately run colleges in Malaysia, the government
retains strict control over all areas of education. The Ministry of Education
is responsible for administrating the entire system of education from
primary-school to university-level programs. In addition, the ministry
regulates curricula, oversees national examinations and supervises the
development of education in the country.
Education
is not compulsory at any level.
Malay is
the official language of instruction in public schools and institutions
of higher learning. However, because of the multiethnic character of the
population, there are many Chinese-medium and Tamil-medium primary schools.
English is also widely spoken and is the language of business.
The school
year runs from January to November, and the university year runs from
July to March.
PRIMARY
EDUCATION
Duration:
Six years
School
Age Average: 6 to 11
Leaving
Exam: Ujan Penilaian Sekolah Rendah/Primary School Assessment
Test
(UPSR/PSAT)
LOWER SECONDARY
EDUCATION
Duration:
Three Years (forms I to III)
School
Age Average: 12 to 14
Leaving
Exam: Penilaian Menengah Rendah/Lower Secondary Assessment
(PMR/LSA). The student's performance on the PMR/LSA determines which track
they will be placed into at the upper secondary level: science, arts,
technical or vocational.
UPPER SECONDARY EDUCATION (ACADEMIC TRACK)
Duration:
Two years (forms IV and V)
School
Age Average: 15-16
Core Courses:
Malay, English, science and mathematics.
Leaving
Exam: Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia/Malaysian Certificate
of Examination (SPM/MCE).
UPPER SECONDARY
EDUCATION (VOCATIONAL TRACK)
Duration:
Two years
School
Age Average: 15-16
Leaving
Exam: Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia Vokasional/Vocational
Malaysian Certificate of Examination (SPMV/VMCE). Those who pass with
high marks are eligible to further their studies at higher institutions
of learning or to enter the job market. Students also have the option
of enrolling in a skills training course, at the end of which time they
must take the Peperiksaan Majlis Latihan Vokasional Kebangsaan Asas
(MLVK).
* The SPM/MCE
and SPMV/VMCE certificates are equivalent to the O-level Cambridge University
Examinations.
TECHNICAL
SECONDARY SCHOOLS
There are
only nine of these schools in Malaysia offering four-year programs at
the upper secondary and pre-university levels. In addition to taking Malay,
English, mathematics and Islamic education, students choose one of five
technical streams: mechanical engineering, civil engineering, electrical
engineering, agriculture and commerce.
Leaving
Exam: Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) at the end of form
5 and the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) at the
end of upper form 6.
PRE-UNIVERSITY
EDUCATION
Entry
Requirement: SPM/SPMV
Duration:
Two years (lower and upper 6th forms)
Average
School Age: 17 to 18
Leaving
Exam: Sijil Tinggi Pelajoran Malaysia (STPM)
CHINESE SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Students
have the option of enrolling in the county's alternative secondary school
system called the Malaysian Independent Chinese Secondary School system.
Instruction at these institutions is in Mandarin, but the curriculum is
based mostly on the national school curriculum.
Leaving
Exam: Malaysian Independent Chinese Secondary Schools Unified Examination
(MICSSUE). The MICSSUE does not admit students to public post-secondary
or higher education institutions but does qualify them to enroll in private
post-secondary institutions.
ISLAMIC PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Islamic secondary
schools adhere to the national curriculum but offer additional subjects
focusing on various aspects of Islam. Students who attend these schools
prepare for the SPM and STPM examinations. Most of them go on to attend
the Islamic International University,
which has the same entry requirements as most of the big public universities.
HIGHER
EDUCATION
Malaysia
has six polytechnics, nine public universities and 30 teacher-training
colleges. In the past, private colleges and foreign institutions have
not been allowed to operate in Malaysia. This changed in 1994 with the
implementation of new legislation on education. At present, there are
more than 300 private institutions providing some form of tertiary education;
23 of these are involved in partnership arrangements with foreign universities.
The general
entry requirement for admission to a bachelor degree program is the STPM
examination (see above), taken after 13 years of schooling, with a passing
grade on the general studies paper and adequate scores on the exam. Admission
is also based on ethnic enrollment quotas determined by the government.
UNIVERSITY
HIGHER EDUCATION
Programs
and Degrees
First
Degree: Most bachelor degrees are awarded after four years of undergraduate
study. Some professional qualifications (law, agriculture and engineering)
require four years of full-time study while others (veterinary medicine
and architecture) require five years of full-time study. Medical degrees
are awarded after five -- in some cases six --years of full-time study.
Postgraduate:
A number of institutions offer certificate or diploma programs that vary
in length from one year part-time to one year full-time study. Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia (the University of Technology) offers a postgraduate
advanced diploma in computer science and education requiring one to two
years of full-time study. The only non-university institution to offer
postgraduate awards is the MARA Institute of Technology.
Second
Degree: Master's degree programs are offered at all universities and
generally require two years of advanced study beyond the undergraduate
level, a thesis and sometimes an examination. Entry qualifications include
a bachelor's degree with honors and demonstrated ability to pursue in-depth
study at the postgraduate level.
Third
Degree: All universities, with the exception of Universiti Utara Malaysia
(Northern University of Malaysia), offer programs leading to the Doctor
of Philosophy degree. Admission to a doctoral program usually requires
a master's degree. Candidates are expected to complete two or more years
of advanced study, prepare a dissertation and pass oral and written examinations.
NON-UNIVERSITY
HIGHER EDUCATION
Most of Malaysia's
post-secondary technical and vocational institutions are privately run.
The public institutions include the polytechnics, the MARA Vocational
Institutes and the MARA Institute
of Technology.
Polytechnics: These colleges were established by the Ministry of
Education to provide technical training, especially in the fields of engineering
and commerce. They offer two types of programs:
Two-year
programs of integrated courses, which usually include six months of industrial
training, leading to a Certificate. Admission requires the SPM
or SPVM, with a passing grade in English and credit in mathematics and
two other subjects.
Most
programs leading to a Diploma are three years in length. Admission
to a diploma program is based on the SPM or SPVM with a passing grade
in English and credit in mathematics and two other subjects.
MARA Vocational
Institutes: These schools were established in 1968 to increase the
number of skilled workers in commerce and industry. Programs are offered
in building technology and services, electrical technology, woodwork,
electronics, industrial maintenance and services, drafting, automotive
engineering, metal-based technology, gas technology and tailoring. These
programs, which combine classroom work and practical training, require
about two years of full-time study. Admission to one of these institutes
requires a minimum pass on the SPM or SPMV.
MARA Institute
of Technology: This institution was founded in 1956 to provide short-term
courses in commerce and administration. The institute's main campus is
in Shah Alam, but there are 10 branch campuses located throughout the
country. Programs are offered in accountancy, applied science, planning
and surveying, business and administration, engineering, hotel management,
catering and tourism, law and administration, languages, library and information
science, mass communications, mathematics and computer science, secretarial
studies and science. The
institute awards two types of qualifications:
Programs
leading to a Diploma are two-and-a-half to four years in length.
Admission requires the SPM or SPMV, with credits in two to five subjects.
However, Diploma programs in law, library science and mass communications
require only three years of study and the STPM for admission.
The
Advanced Diploma award is considered to be comparable to a bachelor's
degree in Malaysia. Programs, which are two or two-and-a-half years in
length, are offered in accounting, computer science, teaching English
as a second language (TESL) and library science. The entry requirement
is an honors degree for some programs such as library science and TESL
or an advanced diploma for other programs like systems analysis.
TEACHER
TRAINING
Primary
and lower secondary: Teacher training colleges offer post-SPM programs
lasting two-and-a-half years leading to a Teaching Certificate.
Upper
secondary and pre-university: Teachers are trained in one-year postgraduate
programs offered at all universities leading to a Diploma in Education.
Programs are also offered over an integrated four-year period leading
either to the Bachelor of Education (BEd), the Bachelor of Arts
in Education (BAEd) or the Bachelor of Science in Education
(BscEd).
Technical
and vocational: Three-year vocational teachers programs are offered
at Technical Teachers Training Colleges. These programs are open to all
those who hold the SPM or SPM, have completed a polytechnic program and
a three semester trade teacher's course, and a two semester program for
graduates with degrees in accounting, commerce and economics.
FOREIGN
UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS
A number
of foreign universities have entered into partnerships with private colleges
in Malaysia. These split degree or twinning arrangements allow students
to complete part of their degree programs at local private colleges, where
they can earn transfer credits to finish the final part of their programs
overseas at partnership universities, which confer the award. Sunway
College in Selangor, for example, has established twinning arrangements
with the University of Western Australia,
Monash University, Flinders
University (both in Australia) and the University
of Leicester (UK).
In addition,
the University of Sydney and
the Royal Melbourne Institute
of Technology recently opened campuses in Penang that offer the first
one to two years of a degree program. After this time, students must transfer
to the Australian campuses to complete their degree programs. In 1994,
a consortium of American, Australian and British universities established
the International Medical College
in Malaysia, which offers a three-year Advanced Diploma in Medical
Science.
WES
GRADING SCALE
|
Degree
Classifications
|
| First Class Honors |
A
|
| Second Class Honors, Upper
Division |
A-/B+
|
| Second Class Honors, Lower
Division |
B
|
| Third Class Honors (or Pass*)
|
B-/C+
|
*
Some Malaysian universities use the pass classification rather than Third
Class Honors.
The numerical percentage ranges for individual subject grades vary among
institutions.
State Universities
Malaysia
has nine public universities and two institutes, which are in the process
of upgrading to university status.
Universiti
Malaya
Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia
Universiti
Sains Malaysia
Universiti
Purta Malaysia
Universiti
Teknologi Malaysia
Universiti
Utara Malaysia
Universiti
Malaysia Sarawak
Universiti
Malaysia Sabah
Universiti
Islam Antarabangsa
Institut
Perguruan Sultan Idris
Institut
Tun Hussin Onn
Private Universities
Universiti
Telekom/University Multimedia
Universiti
Tenaga Nasional
Universiti
Teknologi Petronas
Universiti
Sains and Teknologi
Universiti
Internasional Komanwel Malaysia
Universiti
Tun Abdul Razak
Universiti
Perubatan Antarabangsa
Foreign
Partner Colleges
There are
currently 19 private colleges in Malaysia that have gained recognition
from the government to conduct degree programs:
Asia
Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT)
Binary
Business School
Disted
College, Penang
Help
Institute
International
College of Music
Inti
College (Selangor)
Inti
College Kuching (Sarawak)
Kolej
Bandar Utama
Kolej
Damansara Utama
Linton College
Limkokwing
Institute of Creative Technology
Nilai
College
Regent School
of Economics
Rima
College
Sal
College
Sedaya
College
Stamford
College
Sunway
College
Taylor's
College
Useful
Web sites
List
of higher learning institutions in Malaysia
Ministry
of Education
Higher
Education Resource Center
Twinning,
Franchise and Articulation Programs
Sources
Country
Education Profiles: Malaysia; National Office of Overseas Recognition;
Australia, 1996.
Handbook
on Diplomas, Degrees and Other Certificates in Higher Education in Asia
and the Pacific; UNESCO PROAP; Thailand, 1998.
International
Guide to Qualifications in Education; British Council; Great Britain,
1996.
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