Types of Schools in Malaysia

Types of Schools in Malaysia

These are the different types of schools in Malaysia and their naming conventions.
National Schools (Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) for primary schools, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) for secondary schools)
Malay-medium schools where mother tongues are usually not taught. Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan, acronym SRK is used for certain national type primary schools.
National Type/Charter Secondary/High Schools
Within the national public school system are a few magnet type/charter public high schools. Admissions are very selective, reserved for students who demonstrate outstanding academic achievement and potential at the elementary level, Grade/Standard 1 through 6. These schools are either full time day or boarding schools ('asrama penuh'). Examples of these schools is the Malacca High School , Royal Military College ( Malaysia ) and Penang Free School .

National Type Schools (Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (SJK) for primary schools, Sekolah Menengah Jenis Kebangsaan (SMJK) for secondary schools)

SJK is used for vernacular Chinese and Tamil primary schools. SMJK is only used for vernacular Chinese secondary schools because there are no vernacular Tamil secondary schools. Examples of these school are Jit Sin High School, Penang Chinese Girls' High School and Chung Ling High School.
Chinese primary schools are usually run by a Board of Governors. They make decision for the school but not in all matters. One matter is the running of school canteens (cafeterias) where the operator is appointed by the Education department. In 2004 Education Minister Datuk Hishamuddin Tun Hussein Onn stated this function would be returned to the Board but it has yet to occur.
Between 1995 and 2000, the Seventh Malaysia Plan allocation for primary education development allocated 96.5% to national primary schools which had 75% of total enrolment. Chinese primary schools (21% enrolment) received 2.4% of the allocation while Tamil primary schools (3.6% enrolment) received 1% of the allocation.
Despite lack of government financial assistance, most students from Chinese schools excel in standardised tests. Some students from other ethnic backgrounds enrol in Chinese schools for the supposed better education.

Vision schools
Recently, attempts have been made to establish (Sekolah Wawasan) or vision schools. Vision schools share facilities with one or more national schools, ostensibly to encourage closer interaction. However most Chinese and Indian ethnic groups object it as they believe this will restrict the use of their mother tougue in schools.

Islamic Religious Schools (Sekolah Rendah Agama (SRA) is used for primary schools, Sekolah Menengah Agama (SMA) is used for secondary schools.)
Sekolah Pondok (literally, Hut school), Madrasah and other Islamic schools were the original schools in Malaysia. Early works of Malay literature such as Hikayat Abdullah mention these schools indicating they pre-date the current secular model of education. The earlier Hindu culture pre-dating the Islamic period of Malay history did not appear to spawn any formalised educational structure.
Another type of schools available in Malaysia is the Islamic religious schools or sekolah agama rakyat (SAR). The schools teach Muslim students subjects related to Islam such as early Islamic history, Arabic Language andFiqh. It is not compulsory though some states such as Johor make it mandatory for all Muslim children aged six to twelve to attend the schools as a complement to the mandatory primary education. In the final year, students will sit an examination for graduation. Most SAR are funded by respective states and managed by states' religious authority.

Chinese Independent High Schools are independent secondary schools funded mostly by the Chinese public.
Other schools include International schools funded by other nationalities such as the International School of Kuala Lumpur by the United States and International School Indonesia

History

The Malay College at Kuala Kangsar , Perak, Malaysia.
Secular schools in Malaysia were largely an innovation of the British colonial government. There were two initial proposals for developing the national education system: the Barnes Report and the Fenn - Wu Report . The former proposal was implemented through the 1952 Education Ordinance.
Many of the earliest schools in Malaysia were started in the Straits Settlements of Penang , Melaka and Singapore. The oldest school in Malaysia is the Penang Free School , founded in 1816, followed by Malacca High School. Many of these schools still carry with them an air of prestige although there is no formal difference between these schools and other schools.
British historian Richard O.Winstedt was concerned with the education of the Malays and he was instrumental in establishing Sultan Idris Training College . The college was established with the purpose of producing Malay teachers.RJ Wilkinson , Winstedt predecessor on the other hand helped established the Malay College Kuala Kangsar in 1905 which aimed to educate the Malay elite.
Initially, the British colonial government did not provide for any Malay-medium secondary schools, forcing those who had studied in Malay during primary school to adjust to an English-medium secondary school. Many Malays opted to drop out instead. Despite complaints about this policy, the British Director of Education stated:
“
It would be contrary to the considered policy of government to afford to a community, the great majority of whose members find congenial livelihood and independence in agricultural pursuits, more extended facilities for the learning of English which would be likely to have the effect of inducing them to abandon those pursuits.
”
Malay representatives in the Federal Council as well as the Legislative Council of Singapore responded vehemently, with one calling the British policy "a policy that trains the Malay boy how not to get employment" by excluding the Malays from learning in the "bread-earning language of Malaya". He remarked:
“
In the fewest possible words, the Malay boy is told 'You have been trained to remain at the bottom, and there you must always remain!' Why, I ask, waste so much money to attain this end when without any vernacular school, and without any special effort, the Malay boy could himself accomplish this feat?
”
Eventually, to remedy this problem, the British established the Malay College Kuala Kangsar. However, it was mainly intended as a way to educate future low-level civil servants, and not as a means to opening the doors of commerce to the Malays — the school was never intended to prepare students for entrance to higher institutions of education.

Mission schools
Roman Catholic missionaries of the Josephian order also started a series of "mission schools" and many of these schools still stand and carry the names of various Roman Catholic saints. Due to government intolerance of non-Muslim views in the public space, none of these schools have brothers any more only SMJK Katholik, Petaling Jaya ( Catholic High School,PJ) has a residance for a few Marist Brothers outside the school. There are also a series of convents which originally housed nuns but had a school attached to provide education to young girls. The education of young ladies at that time was considered very revolutionary. Similar to the brother schools, many of these convents no longer house nuns and so are convents in name only. The Lasallian Brothers also started a series of schools in Malaysia and Singapore. Some of these schools include St Xavier's in Penang, St.Francis Institution in Malacca, St Michael's in Ipoh, St Paul's in Seremban, St.George's Institution in Taiping and St John's Institution in Kuala Lumpur. Most of these schools still have at least one Lasallian Brother as a Chairman of the Board of Governors.
The Methodist Church in Malaysia also established a set of mission schools and these schools carry the name ACS (Anglo-Chinese School) and MGS (Methodist Girls School). The Methodist schools still maintain a single private school called Methodist College. Mission schools are largely single gender institutions while most government schools are mixed gender schools.
The Anglican Church in Malaysia established a number of schools such as St Mary’s in Kuala Lumpur.

School uniforms
Malaysia introduced Western style school uniforms (pakaian seragam sekolah) in the late 19th century during the British colonial era. Today, school uniforms are almost universal in the public and private school systems. Public school uniforms are compulsory for all students and standardised nationwide.
A common version of Malaysian school uniform is of public schools. The dress code for males is the most standardised while female uniforms are more varied based on the ethnicity of students and the type of schools. Male students are required to wear a collared shirt with a pair of shorts or long pants. Female student students, however, may wear a knee-length pinafore and a collared shirt, a knee-length skirt and a collared shirt, or a baju kurung consisting of a top and a long skirt with an optional hijab for Malay students. White socks and shoes of black or white are almost universally required for all students, while ties are included in certain dress codes.
Perfects and students with other additional school duties may wear uniforms of different colours; colours may also differ between primary and secondary schools.