A vibrant homeschooling explosion in Malaysia

Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Alternative education; Homeschool on 11 Jul 2013.

LEARNING BEYOND SCHOOLING‘s Chong Wai Leng has an excellent overview of homeschooling in Malaysia published on the HSLDA site. This is just an excerpt. Read the whole article on the site by clicking here. Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a US-based nonprofit organization established in 1983 to defend and advance the right of parents to direct their children’s education.
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WHEN PRIMARY SCHOOLING WAS MADE COMPULSORY IN 2001, whereby children aged 7–12 are required to be sent to school, there was a small number of parents who chose to homeschool their children, including our family. Together with one of the pioneering homeschoolers in this country, we went to see the education minister. The Minister was pleasantly surprised that homeschooling was practised in Malaysia. He was very supportive and emphasized only one thing: do not forget Bahasa Malaysia! (The Malay language). There was no mention of having to apply for exemption then. However, with the subsequent changes of ministers in the education ministry came various changes in the requirements of homeschooling. Homeschooling became a privilege, and no longer a right.

However, in spite of the changes, homeschooling is NOT illegal in Malaysia. This has been reiterated by the Ministry of Education every time this question pops up in the media. However, parents who wish to homeschool are required to apply for school exemption from the ministry. Those who received an exemption would invariably be those children with special needs, or children who are medically unfit to attend school. However, parents of these children are finding it increasingly difficult to get an exemption because the education ministry now says that they have schools for special needs children. But the quality and professionalism in handling special needs children in public schools is highly questionable, and parents are less than inclined to put their children in these types of situations.

Some parents decided to embark on homeschooling anyway.

Homeschooling is seen as a viable alternative

So homeschooling is still a viable alternative amongst families who want to opt out of conventional schooling or special schools. Today, there are many young and highly educated parents who are attracted to this way of learning for their children, as they believe in the personalization and customization of education for their children.

Homeschooling in Malaysia today takes a variety of approaches The approaches are as varied as the reasons to homeschool. On one end of the spectrum, there are those who have adopted complete curriculum and syllabi from overseas. On the other end of the spectrum are unschoolers, totally child-led and free. In between, many parents adopt a more flexible or a mix-and-match approach considering that there is so much information available on the internet today—including free and complete curriculum packages.

In recent years, we have seen a rise in the number of learning centers, who call themselves “homeschooling centers.” Many are initiated and run by Christian churches or supported by them. Although they call themselves “homeschooling” centers, in practice, they are run like small “private” schools where children as young as 7 are “sent” there and parental involvement is minimal, if any.

Please go to HSLDA site to read the whole article.