Professional Documents
Culture Documents
INTRODUCTION
Estimated population (1995) 20,100,000
Public expenditure on education as 5.2 Legal foundation
percentage of Gross National Product The Education Act 1996 (Act 550, Laws of Malaysia)
(1995) pro-vides the fundamental basis for curriculum policies
Duration of compulsory education 11 in Ma-laysia. It indicates the specific laws and provisions
that give direction to curriculum documents. These
(years) regula-tions are mandatory for all schools.
Primary or basic education
Education goals and objectives
Pupils enrolled (1995) 3,100,000
The country’s educational goals are manifested in the
Teachers (1995) 140,342 Ma-laysian National Education Philosophy (NEP) which
Pupil/teacher ratio 19:1 states that:
Gross enrolment ratio, (1995)
Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards fur-
—Total 92 ther developing the potential of individuals in a holistic
—Male 92 and integrated manner so as to produce individuals who
—Female 92 are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically
Net enrolment ratio (1995) balanced and harmonious, based on a firm belief in and
devotion to God. Such an effort is designed to produce
—Total 91 Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and compe-
—Male 91 tent, who possess high moral standards, and who are re-
—Female 92 sponsible and capable of achieving a high level of
personal well-being, as well as being able to contribute
Estimated percentage of repeaters –
to the betterment of the family, the society and the nation
at large.
(1995)
Estimated percentage of drop-outs 6
(1995) The education system
School-age population out of school 280,000 A uniform system of education in both primary and sec-
(1995) ondary schools has been established whereby a national
Secondary education curriculum is used in all schools. Common central assess-
ment and examinations at the end of the respective periods
Students enrolled (1995) 1,640,461
of schooling are also being practised. The national lan-
guage, Malay, is the official language of instruction.
Gross enrolment ratio (1995)
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(NEP). The NEP has been geared towards achieving the 2. Central Curriculum Committee. (Secretariat: Central
nation’s vision to prepare children to become knowledge- Curriculum Committee, Ministry of Education.) Func-
able, trained and skilled individuals to meet the growing tions:
needs of the millennium. It is envisaged that this can be lto formulate curriculum policies, as well as study their
achieved by emphasizing science and technology, use of implications;
information technology, and inculcating good moral and l to determine the direction of curriculum develop-
work ethics suitable for the Information Age. The school ment and co-ordinate efforts to achieve this goal;
curriculum is designed to achieve the intended learning l to consider and make recommendations concerning
outcomes for different ability levels. education planning and implementation, as well as to
present these findings to the Educational Planning
Committee;
l to study the implications of curriculum programmes and to
at division/district levels;
In the implementation of the curriculum, however,
l to arrange and organize courses and seminars to dis-
various com-mittees have been set up in the Ministry of
Education, State Education Departments, seminate the latest information to teachers and all
Divisions/District Educa-tion Offices and schools. personnel concerned;
l to advise and guide teachers in curriculum imple-
mentation;
1. Educational Planning Committee. (Secretariat: Educa- l to monitor, supervise and evaluate the implementa-tion of
tional Planning and Research Division, Ministry of Edu- the curriculum;
cation.) Functions: l to provide feedback to the higher authorities on the
l to approve and formulate the major policies in the implementation of the curriculum;
Ministry of Education; l to plan, manage and implement innovative projects at the
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6. School Curriculum Committee. Functions: of students’ scores by items, their achievement in the var-
l to plan, organize and evaluate teaching/learning ious skills can be inferred. Should the performance drop
activities in schools; below the expected standard, related divisions of the
l to work towards increasing the knowledge and com- Min-istry look into the problem and take prompt action
petence of teachers and students; to im-prove students’ future achievement.
l to study the suitability of the subject content and The various divisions of the Ministry also carry out
inform parties concerned; related studies to find out the impact of the curriculum on
l to study, evaluate and determine the suitability of students’ achievement. These focus on specific areas of
textbooks or other materials; interest, and information is commonly collected using
l to assess the scheme of work; surveys, class observations or test items. Information
l to assess pupil performance and to identify follow- obtained reflects the effectiveness of the curriculum and
up action; the Ministry is required from time to time to take follow-
l to plan and conduct in-house training programmes up action, such as reviewing the syllabus, textbooks and
for all teachers; other teaching materials, and improving teacher/learning
l to disseminate information to all teachers on the lat- strategies.
est progress and development in education;
l to produce more educational resource materials in
schools; CONCLUSION
l to identify suitability of educational electronic media
programmes in teaching-learning activities; Careful planning is necessary to ensure the implementa-
l to co-operate in the on-going assessment in schools; tion of the curriculum. Thus, the school plays an
l to co-ordinate additional learning activities. important role in creating a conducive environment
encouraging ex-cellence. In this respect, headmasters and
teachers need to understand and internalize the National
ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION Education Philos-ophy, the aims and objectives of the
National Education Policy and the integrated approach of
Centralized examinations are held at the end of Year VI, the curriculum. Apart from the school and parents,
Form III and Form V. The results of these examinations are society also plays an important role. The success of the
used to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum. curriculum depends on society’s support in assisting the
Examination results also provide feedback to the planners to school to develop pupils’ personalities and to participate
improve students’ achievement. Based on the analysis actively in matters relating to education.
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