Preliminary-Blueprint-Eng

3-1
3. current performance
The examination of the performance of the Malaysian education system
begins with an analysis of how students have fared over time, and in
comparison with other countries, along the system outcomes of access,
quality, equity, unity, and efficiency. This chapter provides a clear and
objective fact base, in order to establish a performance baseline for the
Malaysian education system. It paints a picture of a nation with a great
diversity of schools at different performance levels, some of which shine
brightly as examples of excellence, deserving further study to understand
successful practices.
The critical outcomes of access, quality, equity, unity, and efficiency
in the Malaysian education system are the main focus areas for this
Blueprint. These outcomes have been highlighted as priorities as far
back as the Razak Report (1956) and have been consistently reinforced
in subsequent reports and strategic plans, through to the most recent
Education Development Master Plan (2006-2010). Only by critically
examining and establishing where Malaysia currently stands in relation
to achieving these five outcomes, can the Ministry and the nation begin
to move towards building a more effective education system.
ACCESS TO EDUCATION
Ensuring that all children in Malaysia have access to
the educational opportunities provided in the country
has been a key objective of the education system since
independence. There are two elements in “access”: the
first involves getting students into seats in schools, and the
second requires students to remain in school long enough
to achieve a minimum level of schooling. Malaysia’s
education system should rightly celebrate its exceptional
success in raising the levels of access to education in
Malaysia. Since independence, the country has achieved
near-universal primary and lower secondary enrolment,
while participation in preschool and upper-secondary
education has also reached relatively high levels. Although
the country has come a long way in terms of getting
students into schools, challenges remain. Enrolment
rates at the primary and secondary level have plateaued,
remaining lower than that of high-performing education
systems. This suggests that more effort needs to be made
to enroll the hardest-to-reach population of children.
The education system has made tremendous progress since Malaysia’s
independence in 1957, when very few children had access to education.
At that time, more than half of the population had never had any
formal schooling, only 6% of the people had received secondary level
schooling, and only 1% had attained a post-secondary education.
Today, access to education has been transformed beyond recognition.
This has been acknowledged by the World Bank (2011) and the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2005), which attribute
Malaysia’s success in achieving universal primary education to many
factors including the Government’s early investment in education
to ensure all children have access to it, the political will to have the
institutional and policy framework in place, and commitment by all
stakeholders.
Near-universal access has been achieved at
the primary and lower secondary levels
Malaysia has achieved near-universal enrolment at the primary level
at 96% (all enrolment rates are for public schools and private schools
registered with the Ministry). The attrition rate (the percentage of
students who drop out of primary school) has been reduced in recent
years from 3% in 1989, to around 0.2% in 2011. Enrolment rates at the
lower secondary level have reached 91%.