Preliminary-Blueprint-Eng

In general, there are signs of increasing ethnic stratification in schools.
More Indian and Chinese students are enrolling in National-type
schools today than 10 years ago (Exhibit 3-30). The proportion of
Chinese students enrolled in SJK(C)s increased from 92% in 2000 to
96% in 2011. The shift for Indian students was even more dramatic,
showing an increase from 47% to 56% enrolment in SJK(T)s. As such,
94% of students in SKs are now ethnically Bumiputera. This suggests
that there is a risk of declining diversity and ethnic mixing across all
school types, which in turn reduces the ability of schools to effectively
foster unity through inter-ethnic interaction.
EXHIBIT 3-30
Enrolment trends in National and National-type schools (2000-2011)
Percentage of ethnic Chinese primary
student enrolment by school type
Percent (2000 and 2011)
100% = 615,651
SK
8
SJK(C)
SJKT(T)
92
0
2000
SOURCE: EMIS database
545,253
4
96
0
2011
100% = 189,773
SK
SJK(C)
SJK(T)
Teacher diversity in schools
Percentage of ethnic Indian primary
student enrolment by school type
Percent (2000 and 2011)
49
5
47
2000
180,752
38
6
56
2011
As leaders in the classroom, teachers set a strong example for
their students, and often become role models for young people. It
is important for students to have role models who are of different
ethnicities, to properly reflect Malaysia’s diverse population, and
to bridge the gaps between the ethnicities. However, the teacher
population in SKs is becoming less diverse and less representative of
the national population.
In 2001, 78% of the teachers across all National schools were
Bumiputera, and this number rose to 81% in 2011. Although the
population of Indian teachers remained fairly consistent at 5%, the
number of Chinese teachers in National schools dropped from 17% to
14%. The numbers of teachers in the ”Others” category remained close
to zero percent.
JNJK school inspections indicate a
good level of unity
JNJK conducted an inspection of 20 schools in 2011, 55% of which
were primary schools. The inspectors looked at two elements: the
extent to which schools fostered unity among students, such as through
Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025
Chapter 3 Current Performance
policies on “mixed” seating in the classroom, and the extent to which
students themselves demonstrated unity, for example whether students
were interacting across ethnicities inside and outside of the classroom
setting; and whether student participation in co-curricular clubs was
ethnicity-based. The JNJK inspectors found that, on average, student
interactions indicated a good level of unity: there were high levels of
interaction between ethnicities inside and outside of the classroom, and
most co-curricular activities comprised a diverse student group. However,
the inspectors reported that there was a need for schools with less diverse
student populations to take more active measures to create opportunities
for students to interact with those of different ethnicities, religion and
cultures.
MAxIMISING EffICIENCy
The Ministry has consistently directed significant resources
towards developing the education system. It is this
commitment to providing an excellent education for all
Malaysian students that has laid the foundation for the
education system’s—and the nation’s—many successes.
As early as 1980, Malaysia’s expenditure on primary and
secondary education as a percentage of GDP was the
highest in East Asia. In 2011, Malaysia’s expenditure, at 3.8%
of GDP, is higher than the OECD average of 3.4% of GDP.
There is reason to believe, however, that Malaysia may not
be getting the highest rate of return on its investments. In
order to ensure that Malaysia and the Malaysian education
system will keep up with its peer countries in this rapidly
globalising 21 st century, the Ministry is committed once again
to maximising its resources in order to provide Malaysia’s
youth with the very best.
The resources and support that a system provides to schools play a critical
role in how the schools perform, by enabling teachers and principals to
focus on their core activities of delivering effective teaching and learning.
Therefore, a system’s ability to effectively allocate, use, and manage its
funds is essential to its ability to support schools in achieving the desired
levels of performance. This section explores two issues: (i) how Malaysia’s
expenditure on education compares to that of other countries; and (ii)
what the impact of this spending has been.
Malaysia’s basic education expenditure is
relatively high compared to peers on three
different measures
In 2011, Malaysia’s basic education expenditure was RM37 billion (in
terms of money spent on operations and development). This amount
represents 16% of the total 2012 federal budget—the single largest share
among ministries. In addition to this budget, another RM12 billion is
allocated to MOHE and other ministries that provide education-related
services. Collectively, this expenditure demonstrates Malaysia’s very
serious financial commitment to improving the education of its children,
which should be celebrated.(Hereafter, all discussion on Malaysia’s
education expenditure refers to the operating and development
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