Preliminary-Blueprint-Eng

3-15
Student completion rates for one cohort
Tracking the path of the cohort of students entering public schools in
Year 1 in primary school in 2000, through to their completion of Form
Five in 2010 indicates that around 36% of this cohort are either no
longer enrolled in school, or have failed to achieve minimum standards
in SPM examinations for core subjects (defined as Bahasa Malaysia,
English language, Mathematics, Science, History, and Moral or Islamic
Education) (Exhibit 3-20). An additional 11% have switched out of the
public school system to private schools. A comparable trend was noted
for the Year 1 cohort of 1999, as well. This suggests that one-third of
every cohort is not reaching the minimum achievement level desired of
all students.
EXHIBIT 3-20
School completion rates for the 2000 Year 1 student cohort
Student cohort outcomes across schooling phases
Percent of total enrolment in 2000
100% = 509,329
Total size
of student
cohort
100
Year 1
2000
0.4
65
1
33
UPSR
2005
55
6
32
7
PMR
2008
1 Refers to students who took the national assessment as a non-public school candidate.
2 Fail refers to failing at least 1 subject, including Bahasa Malaysia, English language, History, Moral Education or Islamic
Education, Mathematics and Science (General Science for arts stream, either Physics, Chemistry or Biology for science
stream students)
3 Includes drop-outs and students who transferred to private schools not using the national curriculum (for example,
international schools)
SOURCE: Educational Policy, Planning and Research Division; Examination Syndicate
52
11
28
8
SPM
2010
Achieved minimum
standards
Switched
school system 1
Failed 1 or more
core subjects 2
Out of school
system 3
36% fail
to meet
min.
standard
Public perception of the quality of education
outcomes is mixed
Expectations of the Malaysian education system vary across different
groups. As a result, the public perception of the quality of Malaysia’s
education system is mixed:
▪ Industry perspectives: Interviews conducted with employers and
industry leaders reveal that there is widespread concern over the
extent to which students are being equipped with the right skills to
succeed in modern society (Exhibit 3-21). In particular, employers
are concerned about: (i) the lack of higher-order thinking skills,
such as problem solving and creative thinking, and (ii) the level of
graduates’ English proficiency (a particular concern of the private
sector);
▪ Student perspectives: The students themselves appear
optimistic. A recent survey of approximately 23,000 school-going
children (Year 6, Form 2, and Form 4) conducted in 2011 shows
that they are optimistic about the education they are receiving.
For instance, 95% of students agreed or strongly agreed that their
education was helping them develop the right set of life skills; and
EXHIBIT 3-21
Results of 2011 Jobstreet survey on graduate employment
Top 5 reasons why fresh graduates were rejected after interview sessions
Percent of respondents
N = 571 human resource personnel
Unrealistic salary demands
Bad character, attitude and
personality of the jobseeker
Poor command of English
language
Lack of good communication
skills
Too choosy about the job
or company they wish to
work for
SOURCE: Jobstreet survey (October 2011)
38
52
56
60
64
“On the question about
the level of quality
among our fresh
graduates today, 66% of
the respondents rated
them as ‘average’ and
23% rated them as
‘poor’.”
– Jobstreet 2011
▪ Public opinion polls: Broader public opinion appears to be
mixed. A public opinion poll conducted by the Merdeka Centre
in December 2004 on a sample of 850 Malaysians (aged 16 to
30) found that the majority of them (68% of Indians, 58% of
Chinese, and 50% of Malays) felt that the education they received
had prepared them inadequately for the challenges of living and
working in today’s society. In contrast, a 2011 public survey of 1,800
Malaysians indicated that overall, 55% of them believed that the
Malaysian education system was comparable in standards to those
of developed countries, and 35% believed that it was better.
Though the limitations of such surveys need to be acknowledged, the
Ministry believes that these concerns need to be heeded. The potential
of children in Malaysia need to be met with the educational quality that
will ensure that they can realise their dreams and ambitions once they
leave school.
Available data suggest that holistic
development of students is occurring
As part of its objective of providing a balanced education, the Ministry
recognises the importance of understanding its performance in
supporting students’ spiritual, emotional, and physical development.
To that end, the three best available sources of data on this issue
were examined: (i) schools’ scores on student outcome (kemenjadian
murid) as part of the annual school quality self-assessment exercise;
(ii) the 2011 results of targeted school inspections on student
discipline; and (iii) the percentage of students involved in disciplinary
cases in 2011.
Schools generally show positive self-evaluation scores on
student outcomes
Each year, schools are required to conduct a self-assessment using
the Standard of Quality Education Malaysia, or Standard Kualiti
Pendidikan Malaysia (SKPM), on five dimensions related to school
quality: leadership and direction, organisational administration,