Homeschooling in Malaysia: Legal Issues
Education in Malaysia
LIKE MOST THINGS IN LIFE, education in Malaysia is in constant flux. Policies are made and unmade, and flip-flops are not unusual. This section is not intended to review every controversy, but to provide a brief overview of regulations (legislated and unwritten) pertaining to educating a child outside the traditional schooling system. Because things are constantly being reviewed, some of the information provided below will certainly change. Do email me if you have new and additional info that would be helpful to our readers.
Meanwhile, the following still applies:
- Visit the Ministry of Education (MOE) website here
- Public education is FREE in Malaysia. For an overview of public schooling in Malaysia and relevant laws, go here.
- Nevertheless, compulsory Primary Education has been in force since amendments were made to the Education Act 1996 (Act 550), to include Section 29A. The amended section now reads:
(1) The Minister may, by order published in the education Gazette, prescribe primary education to be compulsory education.
(2) Every parent who is a Malaysian citizen residing in Malaysia shall ensure that if his child has attained the age of six years on the first day of January of the current school year that child is enrolled as a pupil in a primary school in that year and remains a pupil in a primary school for the duration of the compulsory education.
(3) The Minister may, if he considers it desirable and in the interest of the pupils or the public to do so, by order published in the Gazette, exempt any pupil or any class of pupils from the requirement to attend compulsory education, either absolutely or subject to such conditions as he may think fit to impose, and may at any time in his discretion revoke the exemption or revoke or alter or add to such conditions.
(4) A parent who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.
(5) The Minister may make regulations for the carrying into effect of the provisions of this section.
Note that compulsory education applies only to Primary School. Secondary school is presently not mandatory under the above Act. After Standard 6, Malaysian students are not compelled to be enrolled in a Secondary School and a child may choose to continue formal education in a private or public school, or abandon it altogether .
Applying to homeschool
According to the Act, any parent who wishes their child to be exempt from schooling must apply to the MOE. Soon after the Act was passed in 2003, following a personal enquiry to the Ministry, 3 conditions were mentioned as requisite for exemption:
- The child in question should be medically certified as unfit (learning disabled) or not suited (high IQ/exceptionally gifted) for conventional schooling
- The family is constantly travelling abroad
- The curriculum used must be the National Curriculum in the main, while others could be used as supplement.
Subsequently in a written reply to a local daily in 2004, the Ministry of Education said the following factors would be considered in applications for exemption:
- The parents’ and child’s nationality and residence status;
- Whether the child has registered in a school;
- Reasons for requiring home schooling;
- The parents’ ability to home school;
- The suitability of the home-schooling plan devised by the parents, and
- The curriculum, timetable and methods of assessment used.
Conditional approval will be given once the minister is satisfied that the factors above have been met. The conditions include:
- The number of years exempted;
- The use of the KBSR curriculum; and
- Allowing an officer from the ministry to monitor the progress.
Applications may be addressed to:
Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia
Aras 2, Blok E2,
Kompleks Kerajaan Parcel E,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan
62604 PUTRAJAYA
19 Comments so far...
My Kids Deserve Better » Blog Archive » Legal Issues and Information for Homeschoolers Says:
22 July 2009 at 7:05 am.
[...] Homefrontier » Homeschooling in Malaysia:Legal Issues [...]
Does Homeschooling = Smarter Happier Kids? « Early Years Childcare Says:
23 August 2009 at 10:03 pm.
[...] In Malaysia, parents who wish their child to be exempt from public schooling have to apply to the Ministry of Education. For a more detailed description on the legal issues of homeschooling in Malaysia, click on this link. [...]
Is it legal to homeschool? « Muslim-Malaysian Homeschool Says:
30 May 2010 at 4:31 am.
[...] However, to answer some of the queries from fellow parents, I’d like to quote a post from Mr. David BC Tan of www.homeschoolhomefrontier.com: [...]
Q & A (7): Homeschooling Legal in Malaysia? « Learning Beyond Schooling Says:
27 January 2011 at 12:05 pm.
[...] Check out Homeschooling in Malaysia – Legal Issues [...]
Koh Lee Kiaw Says:
19 June 2012 at 8:51 am.
Hi David,
I’m consider to let my child which 6 years old to have home schooling.
Recently, I’ve email to MOE but I found that one of the requirement of home schooling was one of the parents must prepared with teaching Certificate(Degree of Education which recognized by MOE). My highest education level was Diploma in Administration, UK. I’ve register in primary school, any possibilities for me to solve this problem? Please help. Or just let my children having home schooling without permit since a lot of barriers in application….
DAVID BC TAN Says:
20 June 2012 at 1:01 pm.
Hmm, this is new to me.
I have previously advised prospective homeschoolers about the problems with the MOE. This is why most if not all choose NOT to apply for exemptions – almost no one gets approval. Although on paper homeschooling is permitted, the conditions make it near impossible unless you meet all kinds of criteria. You could follow your conscience and just do what other homeschoolers have done. Just get on with it on your own, which is really your call. But do it with your eyes open and stand up for your convictions. Cheers, David Tan
Homefrontier » Homeschooling – is it safe and/or legal? Says:
11 September 2012 at 8:08 pm.
[...] Homeschooling in Malaysia: Legal Issues [...]
Joey Puah Says:
20 September 2012 at 4:24 pm.
My son is also 6 years old this year,i have decided to homeschool him. Will i get fine or imprisonment like the statement below if i do not get the permit? Any homeschooler face this problem or found guilty and liable to the conviction below?
(4) A parent who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.
DAVID BC TAN Says:
20 September 2012 at 6:14 pm.
Dear Joey,
I’m glad you are thinking of homeschooling your child. I am in no position to say if you will be fined or whether you will get a permit. But I have written about this common dilemma recently, and you can read it in the blog post here
DT
Rita Othman Says:
25 September 2012 at 8:58 am.
Hi, i’m a school teacher who semi-homeschool my 7 year old son (he’s going to be fully homeschool next year). my dilemma now is that the government is going to implement a system where the ss will be assessed by the teachers at school. what do u think about this?
hazrina zakaria Says:
21 November 2012 at 2:48 pm.
Hi, my daughter is turning 17 next year. I’ve been homeschooling her since she finished her standard 6 from a government school. She is very keen to pursue her studies in medical. I thought of registering her to sit for SPM next year. Can anyone assist me on how to go about with it?
Jenny Says:
22 November 2012 at 5:28 pm.
Just go to the education dept to reg. her under private candidate after the announcement of SPM 2012 results sometime in March 2013. For 1st timer, it is compulsory to take 6 subjects; Maths, BM, Science, English, Sejarah, Islam (Moral for non muslim). You can add – on other subject to 10 per exam.
Kohkila Says:
5 December 2012 at 10:10 pm.
Hi,
I have travelled very frequently and my daughter has been in international schools in a few countries due to this. We recently came back and she was to enter standard 6. Though catching up with B.M was hard she managed to scrape through it but scored A’s in Sci,Math and Eng. As she’s used to much higher levels overseas. I have been told of the change in the language used in Secondary 1 next year. I am compelled to take her out of the misery and homeschool her. PLEASE suggest what I should do. My husband is a foreigner and is currently posted in the U.S so I have all the criterias to homeschool her i think.. but I would like to opt for the Singapore or any other international syllabus. Are there any available online that you would recommend? How do I get out of the govt system currently. She has already been given a school for next year. Whats the best option for my girl? Any suggestions? Thank you kindly.
Boon Tan Says:
26 December 2012 at 12:42 pm.
Hi Parents, i would like to share our home tutorial syllabus developed based on MOE syllabus may help your home schooling child to prepare for UPSR, PMR and SPM examination. All videos lessons are teach by professional teachers and many students has benefitted from it so far. check it out at http://www.ittv.com.my or can leave me a message if you need help. my email bt@ittv.com.my
hazrina zakaria Says:
15 January 2013 at 10:17 am.
I’ve gone to PPD and asked about sitting for SPM as private candidate but was informed that my daughter must be 17 on 1st of January this year or else she has to wait till next year (she will turn 17 on 13 October 2013). So, I’ve appeal from PPD to enroll her to form 5 (in science stream as she wants to become a doctor).
After all the hassle, she was accepted to enter school in SMKPP 11(2).
Problem arise when the headmistress is afraid that she will not pass her SPM and it will give a bad reputation to the school.
She was asked to sit for form 4 science subject papers with only 2 days to prepare and with tonnes of homework to settle. I guess this is unfair and teachers nowadays are not educators like before. Teaching has become a career and they don’t care about helping students in studies anymore but just to gain fame.
Is there any other way I can get my daughter to take her SPM this year so that she can perdue her medic school soonest possible. She is very smart in maths but need a little bit of help in her science. She was being offered for boarding school before I decided to home school her.
To enroll her for a level or o level would be too expensive for me.
Please help…. Thank you
DAVID BC TAN Says:
25 January 2013 at 1:20 pm.
Hello,
I am not quite sure why you feel your daughter must take the exams and pursue medicine ‘soonest.’ Unless you have very urgent needs to address. My own feeling is, having to wait a year is no waste if your daughter can get involved in other productive pursuits – learn another language, sign up for drama, get involved in NGO, etc. Perhaps other parents have another point of view?
David Tan
Sweeyen Says:
25 January 2013 at 5:48 pm.
Hazrina – I wonder what is your daughter’s feedback on all these obstacles? It would be interesting (and useful) to hear her point of view.
If medical school is her ultimate goal but she “need a little bit of help in her science” – shouldn’t that be a more “urgent” need to attend to?
Just my .02 
enira elyas Says:
26 February 2013 at 10:25 am.
My children are 5 yrs and 1 yr. I like the idea of homeschooling my kids. Anyone have experiences reagrding the MOE acts, please share with me.
enirawardrobe[at]gmail.com
DAVID BC TAN Says:
1 March 2013 at 11:57 am.
Hi, have you read through our resources pages? You might find some helpful suggestions there. To be frank, most of our homeschoolers avoid the MOE as they are not necessarily friendly to our request for exemption. We act according to our conscience and just educate our own children without official approval. AS far as we know, no one has met with any serious repercussion as yet. Very likely our MOE has too many issues to deal with to bother parents who are exercising responsibility by educating their own children already.
Rgds,
DT