Preliminary-Blueprint-Eng

3-25
expenditure of the Ministry only.)Several measures can be used to
compare the Ministry’s expenditure on education with that of other
systems. The first two—expenditure as a percentage of GDP and as a
percentage of total government spending—are typically used to account
for expenditure relative to other priorities in the country, and for the
differences in economic development levels between countries. The
third, expenditure per student (adjusted for purchasing power parity)
is used to compare absolute spending levels.
Malaysia’s expenditure as a percentage of GDP is twice
the ASEAN average
The 2011 World Bank review of government expenditure found that
Malaysia’s public expenditure on basic education, such as preschool
through to secondary, as a percentage of GDP is more than double
that of other ASEAN countries (3.8% versus 1.8%), and 1.6% higher
than the Asian Tiger economies of South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan,
and Singapore (Exhibit 3-31). It is also slightly higher than the OECD
average of 3.4%.
EXHIBIT 3-31
Malaysia’s basic education expenditure as a percentage of GDP
Percent (2011)
3.81
Malaysia
1.80
ASEAN average
1 Includes operating expenditure and capital/development expenditure
SOURCE: World Bank EdStats 2011
3.41
OECD average
Malaysia’s expenditure as a percentage of total government
spending (16%) is almost double that of the OECD average
The expenditure on education as a percentage of total government
spending is also relatively high, at 16% in 2011. In comparison with
regional peers of Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, South
Korea and Japan, as well as GDP per capita peers of Mexico and
Chile, Malaysia is second only to Thailand. Malaysia’s expenditure is
also almost double that of the OECD average of 8.7% of government
spending (Exhibit 3-32).
EXHIBIT 3-32
Malaysia’s basic education expenditure as a % of government budget
Basic education expenditure 1 as % of total government expenditure for Malaysia and peers 2
Percent (2008)
18
16
Malaysia3 Thailand3 14
Mexico
12
Chile
12
Hong
Kong 3
1 Includes operating expenditure and capital/development expenditure for basic education (primary and secondary)
2 Peers based on the following categorisation: Asian Tigers (Hong Kong, Singapore, S. Korea, Japan); SEA neighbours (Indonesia,
Thailand Singapore), and comparable GDP per capita (Mexico and Chile)
3 Data for 2010
Note: Data from 2008 or 2010 depending on latest available data
SOURCE: Ministry of Education Malaysia; OECD – Education at a Glance 2011; Singstat; Ministry of Finance Thailand; Ministry of Finance
Indonesia; Education Bureau of Hong Kong.
11
Korea
11
9
Indonesia3 Singapore3 7
Japan
OECD
average
8.7%
Malaysia’s spending per student is comparable with peer
countries with similar GDP per capita
Finally, looking at expenditure on a per student basis reveals that
Malaysia’s expenditure is also slightly higher compared to its peers
with a similar GDP per capita. Converted to USD per capita for
comparison, Malaysia spends approximately USD1,800 on every
student per year, which is in line with countries such as Chile and
Romania (Exhibit 3-33).
EXHIBIT 3-33
Malaysia’s per student expenditure
Basic education expenditure 1 per student
USD per student per annum (2010)
GDP per
capita,
PPPadjusted
(2010)
1,808
1,681
1,350
1 Includes operating expenditure and capital/development expenditure
SOURCE: Ministry of Education Malaysia; OECD; World Bank; Ministry of Finance Turkey; EIU. Data
from 2010
988
435
Malaysia Chile Romania Turkey Mexico
14,591 15,044 14,287 15,340
14,566