Education in Malaysia

Education in Malaysia
Ministry of Education
Minister of Education	Fadhlina Sidek
National education budget (2020)
Budget	RM64.1 billion (US$15.4 billion)
General details
Primary languages	Malay (Official); English; Mandarin; Tamil;
System type	National
Established	1956
Literacy (2009)
Total	95% (all 15 yrs and above)
Male	95% total, 98% 15–24 yrs
Female	95% total, 98% 15–24 yrs
Enrollment
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 – some studies suggest that some of the remaining 34% and 28% switch to private institutions after secondary school)

Education in Malaysia is overseen by the Ministry of Education (Malay: 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 1996.

The education system in Malaysia is divided into five stages: preschool education, primary education, secondary education, post-secondary education and tertiary education.^[2] It is further divided into national and private education. Education may be obtained from the multilingual national school system, which provides free education for all Malaysians, or private schools, or through homeschooling. International and private institutions charge school fees. By law, primary education is compulsory. Secondary education is expected to be compulsory.^[3] Standardised tests are a common feature as in many Asia-Pacific countries such as the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Japan. Currently, there are 43 universities, 31 private university colleges, 9 foreign university branch campuses and 414 private colleges in Malaysia.

^ "Education Ministry largest 2020 Budget recipient with RM64.1b [NSTTV]". New Straits Times. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
^ "APDM". MyGOV – The Government of Malaysia's Official Portal www.malaysia.gov.my. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
^ CARVALHO, MARTIN; VETHASALAM, RAGANANTHINI; YUNUS, ARFA; MONIHULDIN, MAHADHIR (2023). "Compulsory education may be up to secondary level, says deputy minister". The Star. Retrieved 22 December 2023.