Malaysians flocking to international schools
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Malaysian schools on 24 Aug 2009.
Education is big business in Malaysia. No surprises here. That parents are willing to fork out exorbitant fees to educate their children in elite international schools tells you what parents think about the local education system. And what they think is really at stake. But even that didn’t prepare me for reports that 20 more international schools are set to open their doors in the country soon.
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 – More middle-class Malaysians are enrolling their children in international schools despite long waiting lists, as parents grow increasingly frustrated with the local education system.
Up to 2006, the only Malaysians who could send their children to these schools were those who had lived abroad for at least three years, or had a foreign spouse.
An exception was those with businesses that could attract foreign direct investments for the country. These business owners were wealthy Malaysians.
Thus, there were not many local students enrolled in international schools.
But since 2006 – when the rules were relaxed and international schools were allowed to enrol up to 40 per cent Malaysians – middle-class Malaysians have started placing their children in such schools, which have increased in number, from 32 three years ago to 40 now.
The number of Malaysian students have also gone up – from 2,608 among an estimated 10,000 students, or 26 per cent, in 2006, to 5,000 among an estimated 15,000 students, or 33 per cent, in 2009.
At least 20 more international schools are scheduled to open soon, according to school operators.
One reason some parents are transferring their children to international schools is the changes in the curriculum of the national schools.
One example: the decision last month to reverse the policy of teaching maths and science in English, which had been in effect for six years.
Another change was when the government decided to limit the number of subjects students are allowed to take for their O-levels, compared with the unlimited number previously.
“The Education Ministry is very fickle minded, they do not know what to do most of the time with the policies,” said property agent Tan Ching Suan, 49, who is unhappy with the constant changes in the local system.
[Read the rest here]
3 Comments so far...
Azlea Says:
25 August 2009 at 5:35 pm.
the comments on the article are an interesting read too, esp this one,
“Parents, Rakyat, please do not be misled by the masses and (shall I call it) “peer pressure” when it comes to our children’s education. Amidst the stresses of our everyday lives along with our love for and wishes for only the best for our children, we tend to look for “alternatives” when it comes to their education.
But understand that education comes not from the book, the formal education, that the children receive from school. Education comes from awareness.
How different were we from the past? We did not have the Internet, computers, newswire, easier scholarly publication access, etc. How much more that the children today should undergo learning through the “hard knocks of life” rather than being given all the simplicities that life has to offer. We as business people speak about seeking leverage, but only because we have learned the core abd backbone of the subject/task.
Yes, I agree that our education system is down the drain. But what different is there when compared to other countries’ systems? What is the perfect education system? Some say Singapore’s system is effective, yet many state their education system creates children that grow up rigid and lacking of “self-starting” capabilities, creating the employee rather than the entrepreneur. The United States system many call a “rojak” system, that the loose system, coupled with intense peer pressure and highly subjective learning systems, create “awared” Americans but lack the skills to complete in a globalized marketplace?
International/Private Schools within Malaysia are not the solution but rather an “easier” alternative. Sometimes, we have to ask ourselves if we are truly giving our children the full attention, time, and awareness when it comes to experiencing all that life has to offer. We LEARN from life more than we learn from school.”
I TOTALLY AGREE!!!
DAVID BC TAN Says:
26 August 2009 at 1:46 am.
Someone said: “An educational system isn’t worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn’t teach them how to make a life.”
I’d like to think I chose to homeschool my children because there’s more to life than ‘making a living.’
Jelise Says:
27 August 2009 at 9:30 pm.
I TOTALLY agree with David’s quote!! That’s what makes our homeschooling unique & meaningful!
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