Tertiary education, also known as post-secondary education, is taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education. Tertiary education generally includes in the receipt of certificates, diplomas or academic degrees. Colleges, universities or institutes of technology and polytechnics are the main institutions that provide tertiary education.
In Malaysia, tertiary education is the responsibility of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE). There are two groups that provide higher education in Malaysia:
i) Public institutions - public universities, polytechnics, community colleges and teacher training institutes.
ii) Private institutions - private universities, private university colleges, foreign university branch campuses and private colleges.
There are currently 20 public universities, 40 private universities, 5 foreign university branch campuses and about 500 private colleges offering a wide variety of courses.
The second stage of formal education in Malaysia is secondary education. Secondary education for Malaysian students starts at age of 13 and continues for five to seven years. Just as in primary school, there is a curriculum that has been standardized for secondary school as well. It was designed and implemented to ensure the consistency in learning standards. The students' level of understanding is measured trough general examinations at the end of each year.
In the course of their secondary education, students are required to sit for two national examinations set by the Malaysian Examination Syndicate.
After their third year, (Form Three) students are required to sit for the Lower Secondary Assessment (Penilaian Menengah Rendah) (PMR) examination. In Form Five they are required to take the Malaysia Certificate of Education (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) (SPM) examination.
With the completion of Form Five, students who wish to continue their education have the option to either continue with Form Six or further their studies with other public or private tertiary institutions. Students who opt for Form Six are required to sit for the Malaysia Higher School Certificate (Sijil Tinggi Penilaian Malaysia) (STPM) examination.
Majority of the parents will choose to start their children's journey of formalized learning at the pre-school level. However, the compulsory education in Malaysia begins at the primary schooling level.
Primary schooling develops a solid foundation for life-long learning in children. A curriculum that has been standardized has been established which ensures that important and fundamental subjects are well and fully covered. To measure a student's progress at this level, public examinations known as the UPSR (Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah, or Primary Schooling Achievement Tests) is conducted at every public schools.
Meanwhile, primary education will start at the age of seven years old and lasts for duration of six years. Parents are required to register their children at a local school before they reach this age to ensure that a place is reserved for them at the appropriate time to come.
Other than that, parents may also request to transfer their children to other schools. However, this can only been done with various valid reasons.
Sekolah pondok or in English is hut school, Madrasah and other Islamic schools were the first type of schooling available in Malaysia. Early works of Malay literature which is Hikayat Abdullah mentioned these schools indicating they pre-date the current secular model of education.
Secular schools in Malaysia were an innovation of what the British colonial government have brought. Many of the earliest schools in Malaysia were founded in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore. The oldest English-language school in Malaysia is the Penang Free School, founded in 1816, followed by Malacca High School, and Anglo Chinese School, Klang. Many English-language schools are considered quite prestigious and high class.
British historian Richard O. Winstedt worked to improve the education of the Malays and was the man in charged in establishing Sultan Idris Training College with the purpose of producing Malay teachers. R J Wilkinson helped establish the Malay College Kuala Kangsar in 1905 which which aimed to educate the Malay elite.
