Education

In the country of Malaysia there are two ways to get an education, one way is by attending government sponsored schools or private schools and the other way is through homeschooling. The education in Malaysia is very centralized, the state and local governments really don’t have a say which curriculums are taught. There are 6 stages of education; they are Pre-School, Primary Education, Secondary Education, Tertiary Education and Postgraduate Education. The only stage of education that is mandatory in Malaysia is Primary school and the government does not find it as a criminal act not to pursue education for children 6 years and older.
In Pre-School, mostly children from well to do families attend because the schools in Malaysia are not free like here in the United States and in the United Kingdom. The government does not have formal lesson to teaching plan that teachers should follow. The teachers have to attend formal and mandatory training and have certificates before they can run a pre school. Primary School, the only school children are required to attend. The same is said for homeschooling as well. The Primary education is 6 years of education. The Primary education begins at 7 years and then ends at 12. Unlike schools in other countries, students are promoted regardless of how good or bad they did. Once students complete their necessary years they are given a standardized test called the Primary School Evaluation Test or the Ujjain Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah. These tests have written Malay, English, Science and Math. Homeschoolers must take this test as well. Secondary school has 5 years of school it would the equivalent of Junior High School and High School. There are five forms of this school should the children attend. At the end of Form 3 the students must take a Lower Secondary Evaluation. Depending on the results the students will be divided in either science or art. Students want the science program it teaches more, students are allowed to change from arts to science but they really aren’t allowed to go from science to art.
After completing Form 5 the students have to take a required Malaysian Certificate Education examination this is a test to see if the student is eligible for graduation. Once a student achieves this level then they are left with the decision to either go to Pre University or continue with Form 6. Students must be accepted in continuing with Form 6 and that would depend on their Form 5 grade. The Pre University is like a community college, the college can offer a student either a one year or a two year program.

Students may apply to public Universities as well, the can apply in different parts of the country and if they wish the world. Many do not leave the country but they may choose to study elsewhere. There are also Postgraduate Programs or Vocational programs and Polytechnic schools as well. Education is very important and in this day and age with so many opportunities it would be a shame not to take advantage of the resources you have available.

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