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Malaysia

Curriculum planning, development


and reform

Zamrus Bin A. Rahman and Mokelas Bin Ahmad

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)

—Total 62 Curriculum philosophy


—Male 58 The school curriculum is expected to contribute to the
—Female 66 ho-listic development of the individual (mental,
Third-level enrolment ratio (1995) 10.6 emotional, physical, spiritual) by imparting general
knowledge and skills, fostering healthy attitudes and
Estimated adult literacy rate (1995) instilling accepted moral values. The aim is to produce
—Total 83 Malaysian citizens who are balanced, trained, skilful and
—Male 89 cherish the national aspiration for unity.
—Female 78 The general direction for on-going curriculum
reform is to improve the quality of education in order to
Source: UNESCO statistical yearbook, 1998, Paris. achieve the aims of the National Education Philosophy

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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

CURRICULUM DESIGN make decisions accordingly;


l to determine aspects which require research and study.

The national curriculum promotes unity through the use


of a single medium of instruction (the national language)
and the provision of the same core subjects for all pupils
3. Curriculum Implementation Committee. (Secretariat:
in all schools within the National Education System.
Central Curriculum Committee, Ministry of Education.)
However, the cultural diversity of different ethnic groups
Functions:
in Malay-sia is preserved through the existence of
National Type Schools, which are allowed to use other l responsible for co-ordinating all levels of preparation in
major ethnic lan-guages as the medium of instruction. implementing any curriculum programmes approved by
the Central Curriculum Committee;
The underlying theoretical principle of national cur-
l to ensure co-ordination between the divisions of the
riculum formulation is that of general education, using an
Ministry and the State Education Departments in the
integrated approach in curriculum planning. The curricu-
implementation of the curriculum;
lum comprises content and skills, with emphasis on the
l to gather feedback on curriculum implementation at the
development of basic skills, the acquisition of knowledge
and thinking skills. Each subject must also incorporate State, division/district and school levels;
l to organize forums to discuss successful innovative
the inculcation of moral values and attitudes and the cor-
rect use of Malay and other languages, such as English, programmes implemented at the State level.
Chinese and Tamil.
The integrated approach is the main focus in the 4. State Curriculum Committee. Functions:
design of the Integrated Curriculum for Primary School l to monitor, assess and guide principals, headmasters
and Integrated Curriculum for Secondary School. The and teachers in the implementation of the curricu-
elements of knowledge, skills and values are incorpo- lum;
rated so as to bring the integrated development of the l to gather and analyze information and take the neces-
intellectual, spiritual, emotional and physical aspects of sary follow-up action;
the individual. l to co-ordinate the implementation of activities
between policy makers and implementers at the Min-
istry, division/district and school levels;
l to co-ordinate the use of resources for curriculum
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND implementation;
MECHANISMS OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT l to plan, manage and co-ordinate courses organized
for teachers by the State Education Department;
Malaysia’s system of curriculum development is central- l to plan, manage and implement innovative projects;
ized. The Ministry of Education through its central agen- l to improve professionalism among teachers.
cy, namely the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC),
is responsible for initiating curriculum development. The 5. Division/District Curriculum Committee. Functions:
CDC is responsible for the development of the pre-
to plan activities and curriculum implementation strategies
school, primary school and secondary school curriculum.
l

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

l to consider all projects related to policy matters. division/district levels.

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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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