Overview of Education in Malaysia

This chapter provides a broad overview of Malaysia and its education system, connecting some of the key milestones from its historical development to the contemporary education structure in operation today. In its present state, the entire education system includes an array of subsystems for each education level to cater for more than 7 million students. The system is federally administered and governed through a highly centralized structure. Education access has expanded significantly since 1957. In 2018, early childhood, primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary enrolment rates were 85.4%, 97.8%, 95.3%, and 87.18%, respectively. Tertiary enrolment rates exceeded 40%. Still in the midst of expansion, the system is confronted with addressing challenges related to education provision for the hardest-to-reach children, substantive quality issues, and reviewing the politics and governance of its education system to be better prepared for the future.