Education in Malaysia
| Minister of Education | Mahdzir Khalid |
|---|---|
| Budget | MYR54.6 billion (USD17 billion)1 |
| Primary languages | Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, English |
| System type | National |
| Established | 1956 |
| Total | 95% (all 15 yrs and above) |
| Male | 95% total, 98% 15–24 yrs |
| Female | 95% total, 98% 15–24 yrs |
| Total | 5,407,865 with 405,716 teachers (ratio 13:1), incl. 163,746 pre-school |
| Primary | 2,899,228 (survival rate to last primary grade, Grade 6 is 99%) |
| Secondary | 2,344,891 (66% male & 72% female students move up to Secondary 1 from Primary 6) |
Education in Malaysia is overseen by the Ministry of Education (Kementerian Pendidikan). Although education is the responsibility of the federal government, each state and federal territory has an Education Department to co-ordinate educational matters in its territory. The main legislation governing education is the Education Act of 1996.
The education system is divided into preschool education, primary education, secondary education, post-secondary education and tertiary education. Education may be obtained from the multilingual public school system, which provides free education for all Malaysians, or private schools, or through homeschooling. By law, primary education is compulsory. As in many Asia-Pacific countries such as the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Japan, standardised tests are a common feature. Currently, there are 37 private universities, 20 private university colleges, seven foreign university branch campuses and 414 private colleges in Malaysia.
Sekolah Pondok (literally, Hut school), Madrasah and other Islamic schools were the earliest forms of schooling available in Malaysia. Early works of Malay literature such as Hikayat Abdullah mention these schools indicating they pre-date the current secular model of education.
Secular schools in Malaysia were largely an innovation of the British colonial government. Many of the earliest schools in Malaysia were founded in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca, and Singapore. The oldest English-language school in Malaya is the Penang Free School, founded in 1816, followed by Malacca High School, St. Xavier's Institution, King Edward VII School (Taiping) and Anglo Chinese School, Klang. Many English-language schools are considered quite prestigious.
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