CHAPTER 4

student

4-1

4. Student Learning
All education systems are judged by how much students learn and develop
during their time in the system. The Ministry aspires to elevate the quality of
Malaysian student outcomes to a level at par with the top third of education
systems in the world. In line with the National Education Philosophy,
the Ministrys approach to education is focused on developing students
holistically. This means, the education system addresses intellectual,
spiritual, emotional, and physical development, alongside a strong sense
of national identity. This section examines how the Ministry plans to
achieve its student learning aims by re-assessing its curriculum and
assessment, provisions for delivery of Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM), language policy, provisions for students with specific
needs, and finally, its ability to translate policy into actions for school
improvement.
Curriculum and assessment must be aligned with international
benchmarks to ensure that Malaysian students are acquiring the
knowledge and skills necessary for their success in the 21st century
and beyond, along with a passion for lifelong learning. The Ministry
will strenghten the quality of Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathemathics (STEM) education. The language policy will be updated
to promote proficiency in at least Bahasa Malaysia and the English
language. The Ministry will also continue to support the teaching of

Chinese language and Tamil in National-type schools. In making these

improvements, special care will be taken to ensure that groups with
needs that differ from the mainstream still have every opportunity to
fulfil their potential. Finally, as school is the centre where learning takes
place, state and district capabilities will be strengthened to ensure that
ambitious policies consistently and credibly translate into a world-class
experience in the school and classroom.

Curriculum AND Assessment

The Ministry will ensure the provision of an all-rounded curriculum
benchmarked to international standards to produce students with the
skills required to compete at an international level. This curriculum will
address the intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and physical dimensions
of each student. It will emphasise the application of knowledge and
the development of critical, creative, and innovative thinking skills. It
will provide students with the opportunity to learn arts, be involved
in at least one sporting activity and other co-curricular activities.
The Ministry will also ensure the holistic assessment of students
via National Examinations and School-based Assessments or
Pentaksiran Berasaskan Sekolah (PBS). Measures undertaken will
include:

Redesigning the primary and secondary school curricula to align

with international standards;
Upgrading assessment frameworks to increase items that test
higher-order thinking skills and to move towards standardreferencing in PBS;
Intensifying teacher support to ensure the written curriculum is
accurately translated into classroom teaching through better
teaching resources and an expanded School Improvement
Specialist Coach (SISC+) role; and
Introducing Literacy and Numeracy Screening (LINUS) 2.0 with an
expanded scope to address English literacy.

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

The Ministry enlisted the help of UNESCO and Universiti Kebangsaan

Malaysia to assess different aspects of curriculum development and
implementation. The Malaysian curriculum was analysed from three
dimensions (Exhibit 4-1):
What is written in the curricula, or the Written
Curriculum: the knowledge, skills, and values that form the
content, outlining what is to be taught by teachers;
What is taught in the classroom, or the Taught
curriculum: the knowledge acquired, skills developed, and values
inculcated in students; and
What is examined, or the Examined curriculum: students
knowledge, skills, and values that are tested, either in summative
national examinations such as the UPSR, PMR, and SPM, or
through formative and/or summative PBS that guide teaching

Across the globe, educationists have realised that children need

more skills than the 3 Rs (Reading, wRiting & aRithmetic) when
they leave school. In the globalised 21st century, the need to
create high-quality human capital is more important than ever.

EXHIBIT 4-1
Three dimensions of curriculum

WRITTEN

TAUGHT
The knowledge acquired,
skills developed and values
inculcated in students

21st Century Skills

The knowledge, skills and

values that form the
content, outlining what is
to be taught by teachers

EXAMINED
The knowledge, skills and values
tested, in summative examinations
and formative, class-based
assessments

SOURCE: UNESCO 2010

The Written Curriculum should articulate a holistic education

of international standard, aligned with the National Education
Philosophy. Both the Taught and Examined Curricula should be closely
aligned with the Written Curriculum. In other words, the curriculum
that is taught in the class and examined at the national level should
match the intent of the written curriculum.
The curricula currently in place are the Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah
Rendah (KBSR) and Kurikulum Bersepadu Sekolah Menengah
(KBSM). In 2011, the Ministry started rolling out the new Kurikulum
Standard Sekolah Rendah (KSSR) in stages, starting from Year 1.
By 2016, the KSSR will be in place for all primary school years. A
comparable standard-based reform of the Kurikulum Standard
Sekolah Menengah (KSSM) will be ready to roll- out to Form 1
students in 2017. A revised version of the KSSR will also be rolled out
in 2017.

While most countries agree that their curriculum needs to include

a new set of skills and competencies geared towards the 21st
century and beyond, there is still little consensus on what these
are. Singapores Ministry of Education states that individuals
equipped for the 21st century will be a confident person, a
self- directed learner, an active contributor, and a concerned
citizen. In Finland, the core 21st century goals are for personal
growth, cultural identity and internationalism, media skills and
communication, participatory citizenship, responsibility for the
environment, and ensuring personal well-being and a sustainable
future.
In Malaysia, the Ministry has defined a set of skills and
competencies that are aligned with the National Education
Philosophy and will give Malaysian students an internationally
competitive edge. To this end, the national curriculum aims to
create Malaysian students that are balanced, resilient, inquisitive,
principled, informed, caring, patriotic, as well as an effective
thinker, communicator, and team player. (These outcomes are
synthesised in the six student aspirations described in Chapter
2). These skills and competencies will be reflected in the new
KSSR and forthcoming KSSM curricula.

The Written Curriculum

The Ministry has developed its written curriculum using a wide range
of benchmarks from top-performing education systems to ensure
alignment with international standards on the knowledge and skills
expected of students at different ages. These international benchmarks
have also been aligned with the National Education Philosophy to
produce a curriculum that is suitable for the Malaysian context.
Both the primary and secondary curricula offer a comprehensive range
of science, social science, and humanities subjects. Important subjects
such as Bahasa Malaysia, English language, Mathematics and Science

4-2

4-3

are compulsory throughout school and clearly identified as core

subjects (see Exhibit 4-2 for a breakdown of compulsory and elective
subjects during each phase of education).
EXHIBIT 4-2
Subjects that must be assessed in the
UPSR, PMR and SPM examinations

Compulsory and elective subjects

Primary (KSSR)

Bahasa Malaysia

Chinese language (SJK)

Tamil (SJK)
Mathematics
Science
Islamic education
Moral education
Physical education
Health education
World of music
World of visual arts

Arabic
Chinese language (SK)
Tamil (SK)
Iban language
Kadazandusun language
Semai language

Compulsory English language

Elective

Lower secondary
(KBSM)

Upper secondary
(KBSM)

Bahasa Malaysia
English language
Mathematics
Science
Islamic education
Moral education
History
Geography
Living skills
Civics and citizenship
Music education
Physical education
Health education

Arabic
Chinese language
Tamil
Iban language
Kadazandusun language

92 subjects available in
the academic, vocational and
technical streams including:
Arts
Information technology
Languages and literature
Science and Mathematics
Social Sciences
Vocational and technical

Bahasa Malaysia
English language
Mathematics
Islamic education
Moral education
History
General Science (for Art
stream students) or
Biology, Chemistry and
Physics (for Science
stream students)
Music education
Physical education
Health education

different from the KBSR and KBSM curricula which described learning
objectives at the end of each phase only (see Exhibit 4-3 for a summary
of the main differences between the KBSR and KSSR curriculum). The
Ministry has also developed plans to include one more component into
the KSSR standard document, namely Performance Standards which
define the achievement levels for each content and learning standards.
The KSSM, expected to be implemented from 2017, will adhere to a
similar approach to standards.
EXHIBIT 4-3
Main differences between KBSR and KSSR curriculum

KBSR

KSSR

Integrated education to enhance

mastery of 3R (Reading, wRiting
and aRithmetic) with focus on
knowledge, skills, values,
critical, and creative thinking

Integrated education to enhance

mastery of 4R (Reading, wRiting,
aRithmetic and Reasoning) with
additional elements of creativity,
innovation, and entrepreneurship

Three pillars: Communication,

interaction with the society,
personal development

Six pillars: Communication,

spirituality attitude and values,
humanities, science and technology,
physical and aesthetic development,
and self-efficiency

Curriculum written based on

learning outcomes

Curriculum written based on

content and learning standards

National examination (UPSR)

only

National examination (UPSR) +

school-based assessment

SOURCE: Curriculum Development Division

In addition to academic learning, the curriculum focuses on

spirituality, along with artistic and sporting ability, to develop the child
holistically. Programmes and initiatives to develop these components
are present both during formal class time as well as through a variety
of after-school sports and co-curricular activities.
In line with policy that states that every Muslim child must receive
Islamic education in school, the KSSR curriculum (as well as the
KBSR curriculum before it) provides 160 minutes per week of
Islamic Education to Muslim students and 120 minutes per week
of Moral Education to non-Muslim students. Additionally, all
schools incorporate Visual Arts, Music Education, Health, and
Physical Education classes into their curriculum and adhere to the
1Student1Sport (1Murid 1Sukan) policy by ensuring that each child
participates in at least one sporting activity.
Beyond formal class hours, the Ministry encourages active involvement
in sports and co-curricular activities. All students are encouraged
to participate in one sport, one club, and one uniformed body to
ensure access to a breadth of experiences. To enhance the sports and
co-curricular experience and ensure that students are exposed to
the full diversity of Malaysian society, the Ministry is expanding the
Rancangan Integrasi Murid untuk Perpaduan (RIMUP) programme
which will allow students from different school types, public and
private, to mix during sports and co-curricular activities.
The KSSR standard document is based on two components, content
standards and learning standards. The content standards specify the
specific knowledge, skills, and values that students need to acquire. In
comparison to KBSR, the KSSR has an increased emphasis on skills
such as reasoning, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. The
learning standards describe the degree of proficiency that students
need to display in relation to each of the content standards on a yearby-year basis. This year-by-year articulation of learning standards is

SOURCE: Curriculum Development Division

The Taught Curriculum

Historically, the full potential of the KBSR and KBSM has not always
been brought to life in the classroom. The reasons for this are twofold. Firstly, skills and content that teachers perceive will go untested
in the National Examinations are often dropped from the lesson plan
in favour of content that is more frequently tested. Secondly, some
teachers are less effective at teaching the higher-order thinking skills
articulated in the written curriculum than would be desired.
The new KSSR offers an increased focus on higher-order thinking and
is a clear step in the right direction of curriculum reform. However, if
the new curriculum is to be delivered in the way envisioned, it requires
complex lesson delivery skills from teachers such as tailoring lesson
plans and materials to the needs of students at different levels of
performanceeven within the same classroom. The UNESCO review
(2012) reported that there was little evidence that teachers knew about
or understood the implications for classroom practice of concepts
fundamental to the philosophy and objectives of the curriculum, such
as integrated learning, a holistic education, creativity, and innovation.

The Examined Curriculum

In public debate, the issue of teaching to the test has often translated
into debates over whether the UPSR, PMR, and SPM examinations
should be abolished. Summative national examinations should not in
themselves have any negative impact on students. The challenge is that
these examinations do not currently test the full range of skills that the
education system aspires to produce.

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

An external review by Pearson Education Group of the English

examination papers at UPSR and SPM level noted that these
assessments would benefit from the
of more questions testing
The point is not that inclusion
higher-order thinking skills, such
teachers teach to the test as application, analysis, synthesis
but to develop tests worth and evaluation. For example, their
of the 2010 and 2011 English
teaching to analysis
language UPSR papers showed that
Emeritus Professor Dylan Wiliam, approximately 70% of the questions
University of Londons Institute of Education tested basic skills of knowledge and
comprehension.
LP has started a series of reforms to ensure that, as per policy,
assessments are evaluating students holistically. In 2011, in parallel
with the KSSR, the LP rolled out the new PBS format that is intended
to be more holistic, robust, and aligned to the new standard-referenced
curriculum. There are four components to the new PBS:
School assessment refers to various forms of assessment such as
written tests that measure students mastery in a subject. School
assessment is done by teachers as formative assessment to gauge
students mastery in order to improve teaching and learning.
Central assessment refers to written tests, project work, or
oral tests (for languages) that assess subject learning. LP develops
the test questions, marking schemes, assessment instruments,
scoring guidelines, grading and reports. The tests are, however,
administered and marked by school teachers based on guidelines
provided by LP;
Psychometric assessment refers to aptitude tests and a
personality inventory to assess students skills, interests, aptitude,
attitude and personality. Aptitude tests are used to assess students
innate and acquired abilities, for example in thinking and problem
solving. The personality inventory is used to identify key traits and
characteristics that make up the students personality. LP develops
these instruments and provides guidelines for use; and

Initial feedback on the rollout of PBS suggests that teachers have yet to
fully grasp the magnitude of the change. Some teachers and schools are
also struggling to develop their own assessment tasks and instruments
for the school assessment component. To that end, the Ministry is
strengthening the training provided to teachers to ensure that teachers
are developing assessment tasks and instruments that accurately
assess the standards laid out in the curriculum, and that students
achievement/performance is benchmarked against performance
standards, rather than a relative standard.

The Roadmap: Developing and applying

21st Century curriculum and assessment
In the last few years, two major changes have been introduced that
have the potential to fundamentally change the way students today
learn when implemented well: the KSSR and PBS. The Ministry
recognises, however, that there is still more to be done to ensure
effective implementation of these apects. Wave 1 (2013-2015)
of the reform will focus on short-term initiatives to improve the
written, taught, and assessed curricula individually, while laying the
groundwork for more fundamental reform. Waves 2 and 3 (2016-2025)
will see the introduction of the KSSM and a revised KSSR, and the
development of alternative models to allow for more learning at the
students own pace.

Wave 1 (2013 - 2015): Improving the current

curriculum and preparing for structural
change
The Ministry intends for the education system to not only improve
the quality of its curriculum and assessments, but also achieve much
tighter integration across them. In the short-term, the Ministry will roll
out initiatives to improve the written, taught and examined curricula
individually, as well as to create tighter alignment across all three
dimensions.

Refining and revising curriculum content to align with

international standards

The KSSR and KBSM will continue to be refined in line with policy
that the National Curriculum should incorporate international best
practices and be of a standard that produces globally competitive
citizens. During the development phase, the Ministry will continue
its practice of benchmarking its curriculum learning and content
standards against that of high-performing systems to ensure that these
standards are aligned and that the syllabi are not overcrowded
where the breadth and depth of content covered in the curriculum is
The new format enables students to be assessed on a broader range of
output over a longer period of time. It also provides teachers with more more than can be effectively taught in a given school year. Additionally,
the Ministry will engage independent, international experts to validate
regular information to take the appropriate remedial actions for their
the results of this benchmarking exercise for English language, Science,
students. These changes are hoped to reduce the overall emphasis on
teaching to the test, so that teachers can focus more time on delivering and Mathematics.
meaningful learning as stipulated in the curriculum.
Physical activities, sports, and co-curricular assessment
refers to assessments of students physical endurance and
body mass index, and students participation, involvement and
performance in sports, uniformed bodies, clubs, and other nonschool sponsored activities. Schools implement this assessment
based on guidelines provided by LP.

In 2014, the PMR national examinations will be replaced with PBS. In

2016, a students UPSR grade will no longer be derived from a national
examination alone, but from a combination of PBS and the national
examination. The format of the SPM remains the same, with most
subjects assessed through the national examination, and some subjects
through a combination of examinations and centralised assessments.

Intensifying support systems for teachers to improve delivery of

the curriculum
The SISC+ role will be enhanced from a part-time to a full-time
role. They will be placed at the PPD and become the single point of
contact between the Curriculum Development Division or Bahagian
Pembangunan Kurikulum (BPK), the Examination Syndicate or
Lembaga Peperiksaan (LP), and teachers. This role encompasses
the responsibilities of taking new curricula and assessments to the

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classroom, coaching teachers on pedagogical skills, and monitoring the

effectiveness of implementation. The introduction of the SISC+ will
have the dual benefit of: (i) reducing the number of tiers involved in
curriculum and assessment delivery; and (ii) providing on-the-ground
training to teachers.
The current mechanism for rolling out changes to the curriculum
and assessment system involves five tiers (Exhibit 4-4). The national
curriculum has to be taught to national or federal-level trainers, who
then train state-level trainers, who will then train subject teacher
representatives from each district, who finally teach the teachers
in each school. The multiple tiers often result in a dilution of the
curriculum. The introduction of SISC+ to replace the current trainers
reduces the number of tiers to three, reducing the likelihood of
dilution. The SISC+ will form a direct link between the teachers, on the
one hand, and between BPK and LP on the other, allowing the written
curriculum to be translated more directly and accurately into taught
curriculum.
EXHIBIT 4-4
Comparison of current and proposed delivery model
CURRENT DELIVERY MODEL

PROPOSED DELIVERY MODEL

BPK & LP

BPK & LP

National Trainers

SISC+ at every PPD

State Trainers

Subject Teachers
from Schools in
Districts

Subject Teacher
Representative
Other Subject
Teachers in School

From 5-tiers

to 3-tiers

The number of SISC+ that will be introduced (almost 2,500 SISC+

by 2015) and their focus on coaching (60% time must be spent on
coaching activities) will provide teachers with greater, more direct
on-the-ground coverage than previously possible. This will keep
them more focused on teaching as they do not have to leave school to
attend courses. Training will also be more tailored to the teacher in
question as SISC+ will have the chance to observe teachers in class and
provide instant feedback. The focus of these coaching sessions will be
on the mastery of key pedagogical skills such as developing higherorder thinking skills, teaching children of different ability levels, and
assessing students effectively.
In addition to the SISC+, the Ministry will roll-out additional teaching
resources to ensure that teachers are better able to implement KSSR
in the classroom. These include supporting materials such as video
libraries of exemplar teaching (see Chapter 5 for more information).
The Ministry will also examine what materials are required at the
secondary level to help teachers deliver the existing KBSM in a manner
that emphasises skills and competencies critical for the 21st century.

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

This will be an interim measure until the KSSM is rolled out with its
own set of teacher resources.

Upgrading assessment framework to increase questions that

test higher-order thinking skills

such students will receive targeted training to ensure that they are
equipped with the best strategies to help students catch up and
transition back to the mainstream curriculum.

Waves 2 (2016 - 2020) and 3 (2021 - 2025):

Rolling out new and revised curricula

Regular monitoring routines will ensure that schools that are

struggling to implement the new PBS are identified quickly. Teachers
The KSSM and a revised version of the KSSR will be rolled out in 2017.
and principals from these lagging schools will receive additional on-site
These will incorporate the feedback, benchmarking, and stress-testing
training from the SISC+ on setting and conducting PBS, particularly
results from Wave 1. The Ministry will develop the new curricula using
with regard to standard-referenced grading.
the total number of hours in the schooling year as the starting point,
and remove non-priority content and skills to avoid overcrowding.
The Ministry will also systematically increase the proportion of
Additionally, the skills and competencies identified as important for
questions in both PBS and National Examinations that test highersuccess in todays globalised environment will be fully embedded
order thinking in the next three years. These questions will be based
in the curricula, for example, the continued emphasis on science
on Blooms taxonomy, testing skills such as applying, analysing,
practical lessons and use of ICT. The Ministry will also amend existing
evaluating, and creating. Assessments will be strengthened to include
regulations to give schools flexibility over timetabling as long as
creative and problem-solving skills. By 2016, questions that test these
schools can still deliver the learning and content outcomes laid out in
skills will make up 40% of UPSR questions, and 50% of the questions
the curriculum.
for SPM.

Piloting the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years

Programme (MYP) to explore alternative approaches to learning
The Ministry is continuously exploring new pedagogical approaches to
enhance the quality of teaching and learning. To that end, the Ministry
will pilot the IB MYP for secondary school students in ten schools,
starting in 2013. (This is different from the IB Diploma Programme, a
qualification equivalent to the A-levels, which is currently provided by
two Fully Residential Schools or Sekolah Berasrama Penuh (SBP) in
Malaysia). The sample schools will come from Bands 1 to 4 and include
both rural and urban SMK and National Religious Secondary Schools
or Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA). Schools will be
selected based on a list of defined criteria focusing on the schools
leadership and infrastructure. Findings from this pilot will be used to
inform the development and implementation of KSSM.
The IB Middle Years programme will use the Malaysian curriculum.
The pedagogical approach emphasises the use of project-based
activities and questioning techniques to develop students capacity for
higher-order thinking skills and to help students see the connection
between different disciplines. IB is used in over 141 countries and its
graduates record of consistently outperforming the OECD average,
and A-level graduates at university provide the assurance that it will
offer many valuable best practices for the broader system.

Introducing LINUS 2.0 with an expanded scope to address

English literacy

The Ministry will also start exploring accelerated learning pathways.

This would include allowing high-performing students to complete
secondary school in four years instead five and/or primary school
in five years instead of six, as well as creating a gifted and talented
programme for the top 1% of the student population. The Ministry
will carefully research and evaluate these options to ensure that these
pathways are psychologically and developmentally beneficial to the
children in question and can be implemented in a manner that is not
disruptive to the whole system. More details on these programmes can
be found in the section on Groups with Specific Needs.

Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM)
The Ministry will ensure that it prepares students with the skills
required to meet the challenges of a world that is being transformed
by the applications of Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM). It will also work in laying the foundations at
the school level towards ensuring that Malaysia has a sufficient
number of qualified STEM graduates to fulfil the employment needs
of the industries that fuel its economy. Measures undertaken will
include:

The Ministrys current policy on remedial support states that any child
struggling to master reading, writing, and arithmetic must receive the
necessary support to catch up with their cohort. LINUS 1.0 was rolled
out in 2010 to bolster basic Bahasa Malaysia literacy and numeracy
among children in Level 1 primary school. The programme showed
encouraging success, improving Bahasa Malaysia literacy from 87% to
98%, and numeracy from 76% to 99% in its first cohort.

Raising student interest through new learning approaches

and an enhanced curriculum: Incorporating higher-order
thinking skills, increasing use of practical teaching tools and
making the content relevant to everyday life to increase interest;

LINUS 2.0 will build on the successes of LINUS 1.0 to address English
literacy as well as Bahasa Malaysia literacy and numeracy. Students
who are falling behind will be grouped together during the relevant
classes and taught according to their needs. Teachers working with

Building public and student awareness: Increasing parents

and students STEM awareness through national campaigns.

Sharpening skills and abilities of teachers: Training

teachers in primary and secondary schools to teach the revised
curriculum; and

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Malaysia places great importance on education as a means of becoming Inconsistent quality of teaching and learning: Teaching and
a developed nation to meet the challenges and demands of a STEMlearning approaches are teacher-centred and students lack sufficient
driven economy, by 2020. Accordingly, the Malaysian government
opportunities to be critical, creative and innovative. Some teachers
instituted the 60:40 Science/Technical: Arts (60:40) Policy in
also lack the requisite knowledge in Science and Mathematics
education in 1967 and started implementing it in 1970. The policy
subjects. In addition, some teachers invest heavily in preparing their
refers to the Ministrys target for the ratio of students with significant
students for examinations, at the expense of the practical elements
STEM education to those with a greater focus on the Arts. This policy
of the curriculum; and
target has, however, never been met due to various factors discussed
Limited and outdated infrastructure: Currently, 20%
below.
of schools have Science labs that are damaged and no longer
In 2011, only 45% of students graduated were from the Science stream,
functional. Some schools also lack modern equipment and facilities.
including technical and vocational programmes. Additionally, the
This makes the effective teaching and learning of STEM, especially
percentage of secondary school students who met the requirement
through the use of practical lab work, more challenging to deliver
to study Science after PMR but chose not to do so increased to
and affects the interest of students.
approximately 15%. This raises concerns about the education systems
ability to produce sufficient STEM graduates for the economy. The
The Roadmap: Strengthening delivery of
National Council for Scientific Research and Development estimates
STEM across the education system
that Malaysia will need 493,830 scientists and engineers by 2020.
The first wave will focus on strengthening the foundations of existing
At current speed and course, however, the Ministry of Science,
programmes and encouraging upper secondary and post-secondary
Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) estimates that there will be a
school students to enrol in the Science stream. The second wave builds
shortfall of 236,000 people. Further, as noted in chapter 3, Malaysias
on those foundations by engaging the support of a broader group of
performance in TIMSS between 1999 to 2011 indicates that student
stakeholders, including those in the informal learning sector. The third
performance has fallen. The results of the 2009+ PISA also showed
that Malaysia ranked in the bottom third of 74 participating countries, wave will see the evaluation of these initiatives in order to develop a
roadmap for further innovation.
below the international and OECD average. These figures indicate the
need for strong intervention to meet the targeted number of STEM
Just like any developing nation, Malaysia needs
related graduates and to improve future student outcomes.

Assessing STEM enrolment and proficiency

There are several factors underlying the declining enrolment
and quality of student outcomes in STEM. The factors within the
Ministrys purview include:
Limited awareness about STEM: There is a general lack of
awareness among students and parents of the value of STEM
learning and its relevance to everyday life. The 2008 survey
conducted by the Malaysian Science and Technology Information
Centre (MASTIC) found that public awareness of selected science
and technology facts such as the centre of the earth is very hot and
all radioactivity is man-made is lower in Malaysia compared to
USA, Europe, South Korea, and India. Roundtable discussions with
the Malaysian public also reflected a lack of awareness about STEMrelated career opportunities;
Perceived difficulty of STEM subjects: There is a perception
amongst students and parents that STEM subjects are harder than
Arts subjects to excel in. This results in students opting for the
Arts stream instead of the Science stream. Teachers and school
administrators often share this perception and do not always
proactively encourage students to choose the Science stream;

experts in the fields of Engineering, Science,

Medicine and other Technological sectors. A drop
in interest in Science subjects may stunt efforts to
improve technological innovations to make Malaysia
a high income nation
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (October 2012)

Wave 1 (2013 - 2015): Strengthening the

foundations
Raising student outcomes and interest through new learning
approaches and an enhanced curriculum
As part of the broader curricular reform described in the curriculum
and assessment section, the Ministry will review the existing primary
and secondary school Science and Mathematics curricula. This
review will take into consideration international standards, as well
as the results of a thorough diagnostic of where Malaysian students
tend to underperform on the TIMSS and PISA assessments. The
new curriculum will emphasise higher-order thinking skills such as
analysing, critical thinking, hypothesising and decision making. It will
also encourage project-based and inquiry-based learning, for instance,
through the increased use of laboratory work, student-directed inquiry
and ICT games-based instructional materials. The Ministry will look
into introducing adaptive learning programmes and blended learning
models into schools.

Content-heavy curriculum: The current STEM curriculum

places greater emphasis on content at the expense of practical
aspects, and does not sufficiently emphasise its relevance to
everyday life. This makes it more difficult for students to understand
STEMs value or usefulness to them. This factor contributes to
Further, the Ministry will explore the possibility of increasing
reduced student interest levels in this area;
the instructional time allocated to Mathematics and Science, and
streamline the curriculum to minimise content overlap with other

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

subjects and the post-secondary STEM curricula. As the KSSM and

revised KSSR curriculum will only be rolled out in 2017, the Ministry
will simultaneously develop and launch a series of top-up modules for
both the primary and secondary school curriculum. The Ministry will
roll out these top-up modules by 2014.
The Ministry will also review the national and school-based Science
and Mathematics assessments at primary and secondary schools
to increase the proportion of questions that focus on creative and
problem-solving skills, such as data interpretation and evaluation.
In addition, the Ministry will reintroduce from 2015 practical
(amali) testing elements in national examinations and school-based
assessments. In order to achieve this, the Ministry will conduct a
comprehensive stocktake of the existing infrastructure to identify and
address gaps in equipment and facilities. The Ministry will also need
to ensure that sufficient laboratory assistants are recruited and trained
to support teachers in this effort, and that the Per Capita Grant (PCG)
for Mathematics and Science takes into consideration any extra cost
arising from these changes.

Blended learning
Blended learning refers to the integration of face-to-face and
technology-mediated instructional approaches, the latter of
which typically provides students with some element of control
over time, place, pace and/or style of learning. The model
thus goes beyond the use of technology as a mere teaching
aid (for example showing a video to illustrate a concept), and
instead deploys new instructional strategies and pedagogical
approaches.
There is no single model for what a blended learning classroom
looks like. One of the more common practices is to divide class
time between computer-based and teacher-based instructional
activities. During the computer-based session, students utilise
adaptive learning software to learn at their own pace, and
through their preferred learning style. Teachers then analyse the
resultant data from the software to identify areas where students
require extra coaching.
Another increasingly popular model is that of the flipped
classroom. Teachers assign pre-reading in the form of online
lectures or e-learning lessons, which students complete at
home. Classroom time is then used for peer-group activity,
assignments and discussions. The role of the teacher therefore
evolves from a lecturer to that of a facilitator and coach.

The Ministry already hosts an e-learning video library for students on

EduWebTV. These short videos focus on explaining specific topics,
and cover multiple subjects, including the critical subjects of Bahasa
Malaysia, English language, Science and Mathematics. The Ministry
intends to enhance the quality of this library by having JNJK curate
all submissions to ensure that they are of high quality, and drawing on
other websites that offer comparable e-learning content (for example,
the Khan Academy or Learnzillion videos for mathematics and
science). The Ministry will also map these videos to the curriculum to
make it easier for students to search for content.

Sharpening skills and abilities of teachers

In 2013, the Ministry will conduct a diagnostic exercise to identify gaps
in content knowledge and pedagogical skills among teachers of STEM
subjects through a combination of testing and lesson observations.
This will enable the Ministry to develop a more tailored approach
to professional development. This diagnostic will be akin to the
Cambridge Placement Test that the English language teachers are
taking, and will either be developed internally, or sourced from existing
national or international assessments.
In terms of professional development, the Ministry will undertake
several efforts. In 2013, the Ministry will roll-out School Improvement
Specialist Coaches (SISC+) for Mathematics , and is looking into
ways to fast-track a comparable roll-out of Science SISC+ by the end
of 2014. The Ministry will also develop a daily lesson library of the
best Science and Mathematics teachers delivering lessons to students
from Year 1 to Form 5. These videos can be used by teachers seeking
inspiration and support for their lesson plans or examples of good
teaching strategies, by coaches in delivering professional development
programmes, or even by students as a revision aid. As the revised
KSSR and KSSM curriculum is rolled-out, the Ministry will also
provide teachers with training to ensure that they are able to deliver
the new curriculum effectively. The training will focus on the content
knowledge and pedagogical methods required to teach the curriculum,
with an emphasis on experimentation and application. The Ministry
will train teachers to draw linkages between the world students see
and the scientific world, and to use scientific ideas to explain everyday
phenomena.
To facilitate better lesson planning and sharing of best practices
amongst teachers, the Ministry will require, from 2014, all schools
to timetable at least one weekly, common lesson planning and study
period for all Science and Mathematics teachers in each school.
From 2014, the Ministry will also hold regional and national lesson
planning competitions for teachers, especially on topics that students
frequently struggle with. Best practices identified during these
competitions will be disseminated to the wider teacher population.
In implementing this initiative, the Ministry will work closely with
international organisations like the Southeast Asian Ministers of
Education Organisation Regional Centre for Education in Science and
Mathematics (SEAMEO-RECSAM).
The Ministry intends to use ICT tools more effectively to provide
teachers and students with additional information and resources. For
example, teachers can use ICT resources such as educational computer
games to make STEM learning more engaging. Such tools would also
help interested students extend their exploration of STEM beyond

4-8

4-9

the content covered in the prescribed textbooks. These tools could

be utilised both during and after school hours and across multiple
platforms.

Building public and student awareness

The Ministry intends to work with other government agencies (like
MASTIC and MOSTI), the private sector and NGOs, to roll out a
national public awareness campaign via television, newspapers and
social media. From 2013, the Ministry will engage local terrestrial and
satellite television stations to develop options for televising events
like science fairs and robotics competitions such as is common in
countries like South Korea. From 2014 onwards, the Ministry also
plans to collaborate with television stations to improve Science and
Mathematics programmes, for instance, by injecting more critical
thinking elements into existing educational programmes and
developing new, engaging educational programmes. Additionally, the
Ministry will explore expanding its pusat sains bergerak programme
to encompass schools in more rural and remote areas.
The Ministry will continue to collaborate with institutions such
as museums and science centres to develop or scale up learning
programmes for students. These programmes may be built into
the curriculum, or delivered after-school as enrichment activities.
Finally, the Ministry will run a campaign to educate the public about
the diversity of career opportunities in STEM related fields so as to
encourage more students to select STEM subjects.

Supporting with incentives

The Ministry will explore the viability of providing more incentives to
encourage upper secondary students to enrol in the Science stream.
This includes a tax relief for parents with children in the Science
stream in Form 4, Form 5, Form 6 or Matriculation, and an increase
in the monthly scholarship amount for STPM students in the Science
stream. The Ministry will also explore setting aside a proportion of
awards for outstanding STEM teachers. To give schools the incentive to
encourage more students to enter the Science stream, the Ministry will
consider introducing STEM-related KPIs like the number of Science
students and quality of lab facilities.

Wave 2 (2016 - 2020): Building on the

foundations
This wave will see the roll-out of the KSSM and revised KSSR
curriculum. Additionally, from 2019 onwards, the Ministry will begin
participating in the Grade 4 TIMSS assessment (equivalent to Year
4 in the Malaysian system) in addition to the Grade 8 assessment it
already participates in. This measure will help the Ministry benchmark
the Science and Mathematics performance of younger Malaysian
students against international standards. During this wave, the
Ministry will also encourage the development of inter-school learning
communities to enable teachers to share their experiences in teaching
the new curriculum, learn from each other and provide feedback to the
Ministry.
In addition, the Ministry will upgrade existing Science equipment and
facilities in schools to ensure that they are optimal for the effective
teaching and learning of STEM. The Ministry also intends to upgrade
existing Science rooms in primary schools by the end of Wave 2.

The Ministry will extend its STEM awareness programmes to primary

school students and their parents. The Ministry intends to adopt an
informal approach to strengthening interest in STEM education and
careers by organising mobile Science fairs and centralised Science
camps. These avenues will provide hands-on learning opportunities for
students and parents to understand the benefits of STEM education
and to discover that learning Science and Mathematics can be fun,
relevant and enriching. The Ministry will also encourage teachers and
students to take greater advantage of informal learning centres such as
Petrosains and the National Science Centre.

Wave 3 (2021 - 2025): Innovating to the next

level
The Ministry will evaluate the success of all initiatives from the first
two waves and develop a roadmap for the future. It will introduce fresh
initiatives and programmes as required.

Language
The Ministry aims to develop students who are proficient in Bahasa Malaysia and
the English language, and who are encouraged to learn an additional language.
Measures taken will include:
Implementing a new KSSR Bahasa Malaysia curriculum for students whose
mother tongue is not Bahasa Malaysia in national-type schools or Sekolah Jenis
Kebangsaan (SJK);
Introducing LINUS 2.0 with an expanded scope to address English language
literacy;
Strengthening the delivery of English language lessons, for example, via the
Oral Proficiency in English language for Secondary School (OPS English)
Programme or through a set system of teaching and learning where students
are grouped based on their proficiency levels;
Intensifying testing and upskilling of all English language subject teachers based
on the Cambridge Placement Test and the Aptis Test
Testing and upskilling of Bahasa Malaysia subject teachers focusing on
National-type schools;
Introducing Bahasa Malaysia and English language remedial interventions and
support programmes for students who do not meet the required proficiency
level;
Making it compulsory for students to pass the English language subject paper
at SPM from 2016; and
Providing access to learning an additional language at primary and secondary
level.

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

EXHIBIT 4-5

The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)

CEFR Description
A1

Able to use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs
of a concrete type. Able to introduce himself/herself and others, and can ask and answer questions
about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows, and things he/she has. Able
to interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help

A2

Able to understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate
relevance (e.g., very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).
Able to communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of
information on familiar and routine matters. Able to describe in simple terms aspects of his/her
background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need

B1

Able to understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in
work, school, leisure, etc. Able to deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area
where the language is spoken. Able to produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or
of personal interest. Able to describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and
briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans

B2

Able to understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including
technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Able to interact with a degree of fluency and
spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either
party. Able to produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a
topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options

C1

Able to understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning. Able to
express himself/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.
Able to use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic, and professional purposes. Able to
produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of
organisational patterns, connectors, and cohesive devices

C2

Able to understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Able to summarise information from
different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent
presentation. Able to express himself/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating
finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations

BASIC USER
Able to carry out
real life tasks of a
touristic nature

INDEPENDENT
USER
Able to effectively
express views and
hold ones own in
social discourse

PROFICIENT
USER
Able to fully
participate in
professional and
academic life

SOURCE: Common European Framework of Reference

In general, the Ministry has three goals for the learning of languages:

the English language, as a second language, is used in many parts of

Malaysian professional and social life. This makes the country well Fostering a unique shared identity between Malaysians anchored in positioned to develop a nation of people who are at least operationally
the ability to be proficient in the use of a common national language, proficient in more than one language. Operational proficiency is
Bahasa Malaysia;
defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages (CEFR) as the linguistic fluency required to participate
Developing individuals that are equipped to work in a globalised
fully in professional and academic life (Exhibit 4-5). As the world
economy where the English language is the international language
grows more connected and competitive than it has ever been before,
of communication; and
it is imperative that Malaysia capitalises on its inherent advantages
to strengthen its position in the global economy. Neighbouring
Providing opportunities to learn an additional language.
Asian education systems in China, South Korea, and Singapore are
increasingly focused on developing students that are proficient in
Malaysia is blessed with a multicultural heritage. While Bahasa
their national language, and the English language to maximise their
Malaysia is widely spoken by all Malaysians, Chinese, Indian, and
employability in the global workforce. Malaysia needs to develop a
other ethnic minorities retain use of their mother tongue . Additionally, similar employee value proposition.

4-10

4-11

Proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia will remain the cornerstone of

Malaysias national language policy and the focus will be on ensuring
that students across all ethnic groups are universally able to learn and
converse effectively in the national language. Additionally, exposure
to the English language will be increased and the quality of English
language teaching will be raised. In recognition of the social and
economic value of multiculturalism, steps will be taken to strengthen
access to the learning of Chinese language, Tamil, Arabic and other
leading global languages. This practice is already reflected in the
education system, where all students learn Bahasa Malaysia, English
language as well as other additional languages.

EXHIBIT 4-6
English and Bahasa Malaysia performance (2010 and aspiration for 2025)
Students that achieve at least a
credit in BM SPM
Percent
90
84
Bumiputera

90% students achieve a minimum Credit in Bahasa Malaysia at SPM

level;
70% students achieve Cambridge 1119-equivalent minimum Credit
in English at SPM level; and
30% students achieve independent proficiency in an additional
language.

Assessing language proficiency in Malaysia

There is widespread operational proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia
amongst students, with 75% of students achieving at least a Credit in
the 2010 SPM. Bahasa Malaysia also consistently has the strongest
pass rates out of the core subjects in UPSR, PMR, and SPM. In
National schools and private schools registered under the Ministry,
Bahasa Malaysia is the medium of instruction with over 80% of
curriculum time in Bahasa Malaysia. This ensures full immersion
in the language and equips students with the ability to develop and
express complex ideas in Bahasa Malaysia.
To achieve the aspiration of 90% students achieving at least a Credit
in Bahasa Malaysia at SPM level, disparities in performance between
the various ethnic groups will need to be addressed. Bumiputera
students perform strongly with 84% achieving at least a Credit in
SPM Bahasa Malaysia. However, only 63% of Chinese students and
57% of Indian students reach the same level of achievement (Exhibit
4-6). This is primarily due to the lower exposure to Bahasa Malaysia
in National-type schools. 96% of Chinese and 56% of Indian students
attend National-type schools where content subjects are taught
in Chinese language or Tamil. As instruction time allocated for
languages at National-type schools is split between Bahasa Malaysia,
English language, and Chinese language or Tamil, students receive
fewer instructional hours in Bahasa Malaysia compared to National
school students. To compensate for this, the standards of the Bahasa
Malaysia curriculum and assessment are slightly lower for Nationaltype school students.

70
23

90
Chinese

The aspiration of the education system is to create students that are

at least operationally proficient in both Bahasa Malaysia and English.
All students will also be encouraged to learn an additional language to
the level of independent proficiency. As defined by CEFR, independent
proficiency indicates the ability to hold ones own in social discourse.
By 2025, the Ministry aims to meet the following targets:

Students that achieve at least a

credit in English Cambridge 1119
Percent

63

70
42

90
Indian

57

2010

70
35

2025 aspiration

2010

2025 aspiration

SOURCE: Examination Syndicate

Compared to Bahasa Malaysia, Malaysian students performance in

English language is weaker. Only 28% of students achieve at least a
Credit benchmarked to Cambridge 1119 in English language SPM.
While performance in English language also varies by ethnicity, all
three major ethnic groups fall significantly short of the 70% proficiency
target. Only 23% Bumiputera, 42% Chinese, and 35% of Indian
students achieve at least a Credit benchmarked to Cambridge 1119
(Exhibit 4-6). English language results are also the lowest of the core
subjects at UPSR, PMR, and SPM level.
Lower student performance in English language appears to be
driven by low proficiency among English language teachers.
When a sample of over 7,500 English language teachers took the
Cambridge Placement Test (CPT), a significant number did not meet
the minimum proficiency standard required for teaching English
language. There is also a mismatch between subjects that teachers
were trained to teach and the subjects they end up teaching. Due to
unavoidable circumstances, approximately 30% of current English
language teachers were not originally trained to teach English while
approximately 3,600 that were trained to teach English language are
teaching other subjects. Lastly, international research also indicates
that Malaysias 15-20% instructional time in English language may be
insufficient for students to build operational proficiency.
The provision for the teaching of other languages besides Bahasa
Malaysia and English language is relatively good. Approximately
20% of primary school students attend National-type schools with
instruction in either Chinese language or Tamil and an additional 2%
attend religious schools with some instruction in Arabic.
As per the Pupils Own Language Policy, all government schools are
required to offer mother tongue language as a taught subject when
at least 15 students request it. Under the KSSR, every child may also
choose to learn an additional language depending on availability
of teachers. Currently, 15% of students pass the optional Chinese
language, Tamil or Arabic papers at SPM and there are many other
students who opt to learn other languages like Japanese, French,
German, and Spanish.

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

The Roadmap: Creating language

proficiency at scale
As a first priority, every child that goes through the Malaysian
education system should be operationally proficient in Bahasa
Malaysia and independently proficient in the English language, as
defined by the CEFR. Students from National-type schools will be
proficient in an additional language. This will, however require raising
Bahasa Malaysia standards in National-type schools, better supporting
students that are falling behind in Bahasa Malaysia as well as
improving the teaching of English language over the next three years.
Once these improvements have been made, the Ministry will turn its
attention to building a system that creates widespread proficiency
in Bahasa Malaysia and English language, as well as universally
encouraging students to learn an additional language. Efforts to
develop Bahasa Malaysia into a Language of Knowledge or Bahasa
Ilmu will be intensified, building further upon current initiatives.
Structural changes that go beyond merely improving the quality of
English language teaching to creating a more immersive English
language environment will be required. The Roadmap will be
implemented in three waves from 2013 to 2025.

Wave 1 (2013 - 2015): Strengthening the

current system
Wave 1 will focus on improving the existing system. Over the coming
three years, the Ministry will focus on making the standards of the
Bahasa Malaysia curriculum uniform across all schools, improving
English language teaching and lesson delivery, and increasing the
availability of additional language options for students not in Nationaltype schools. Children struggling with literacy will receive additional
support through the LINUS 2.0 programme and after-school remedial
support for Bahasa Malaysia in Years 4 to 6 to enable them to keep up
with their mainstream peers.

Improving Bahasa Malaysia standards

To overcome lower levels of Bahasa Malaysia proficiency in Nationaltype schools, the Ministry rolled out a new KSSR Bahasa Malaysia
curriculum in 2011 for Year 1, and will complete the full rollout to all
years by 2016. The new KSSR Bahasa Malaysia curriculum is specially
designed for teaching students whose mother tongue is not Bahasa
Malaysia and who do not experience the greater Bahasa Malaysia
immersion available in National schools. This curriculum defines
fewer learning requirements in the early years of primary education;
converging to similar skill acquisition standards as in National Schools
by Year 6 (Exhibit 4-7), with appropriate assessment.
Bahasa Malaysia teachers in National-type schools will be trained to
deliver this new curriculum and to effectively teach the language to
students whose mother tongue is not Bahasa Malaysia, for instance,
by incorporating teaching techniques used in the Teaching of English
as a Second Language (TESL) and the Teaching of English to Speakers
of Other Languages (TESOL) programmes. The Ministry will take
similar measures to improve the curriculum and teaching of Remove
or Peralihan classes. The goal is to ensure basic proficiency in Bahasa
Malaysia for all students as they enter secondary school. Chinese
language or Tamil will remain as the medium of instruction for all
other subjects in National-type schools.

EXHIBIT 4-7
Difference between Bahasa Malaysia curricula in National schools and
National-type schools under KSSR
Cumulative difference in number of Bahasa Malaysia learning standards1 in National
schools and National-type schools under KSSR
Percent

11

7
6
4
3
2

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Year 6

1 Learning standards are discrete standards that students are taught and expected to master as they progress from year to year. E.g., Ability to count from
one to ten in Bahasa Malaysia. Learning standards are cumulative, e.g., students in Year 2 are expected to have mastered Year 1 learning standards.
SOURCE: Curriculum Development Division

In addition to LINUS 2.0 in Years 1 to 3, the Ministry will introduce

optional Bahasa Malaysia remedial classes in Years 4 to 6. Parents
of students who have yet to meet the required proficiency levels will
be strongly encouraged to send their children for remedial classes.
Schools, in collaboration with parents, will have the flexibility to offer
up to five hours of remedial classes per week, outside of school hours.
This could include classes after school, on weekends or during the
school holidays. The best Bahasa Malaysia teachers in each school will
teach remedial and Remove classes. The Ministry will gradually expand
remedial classes to all schools where there are groups of students
falling behind.
The Ministry will test the proficiency of all Bahasa Malaysia teachers
in National-type schools by the end of 2015, including non-option
teachers. Teachers will be grouped in two categories: i) proficient, and
ii) requires training to reach proficiency. There is likely to be a small,
third group of teachers whose grasp of Bahasa Malaysia is too weak to
teach the language and who will be redeployed. Non-option teachers
in the first two categories will be encouraged to undergo the Program
Intervensi Tambah Opsyen (PITO) to add on the Bahasa Malaysia
option. Teachers may only undergo the PITO programme once and
will continue to be posted to schools based on the Ministrys needs.
If necessary, additional teachers will be provided to National-type
schools facing a shortage of proficient Bahasa Malaysia teachers. The
Ministry commits to continue providing Bahasa Malaysia teachers who
are proficient in vernacular languages for Year 1, 2 and 3 classes in
National-type schools.
In addition, the Ministry will begin redesigning and realigning
the Bahasa Malaysia curriculum and assessments along the four
components of language proficiency as outlined in the CEFR, namely
reading, writing, speaking and listening. The Ministry will also
map Bahasa Malaysia grades in the SPM to CEFR grades to allow
the Ministry to better evaluate its efforts to raise Bahasa Malaysia
proficiency amongst students.

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4-13

Develop Bahasa Malaysia into a Language of Knowledge

In line with the To Uphold Bahasa Malaysia Strengthen the
English Language policy or Memartabatkan Bahasa Malaysia
Memperkukuhkan Bahasa Inggeris (MBMMBI), Bahasa Malaysia will
remain the medium of instruction in National schools, including for
Science and Mathematics. For National-type schools, Chinese language
and Tamil will remain the medium of instruction.

Redeployment of teachers who do not meet the proficiency standard

by 2015 could result in a small shortfall of English language teachers.
These gaps will be proactively filled with teachers that already meet
the minimum competency bar in English proficiency. To fill these gaps
as rapidly as possible, the Ministry will hire teachers using alternative
pathways. The primary sources of these new teachers will be existing
English language teachers that are not currently teaching the subject,
and new graduate teachers from the IPGs or IPTAs.

Efforts to develop Bahasa Malaysia into a language of knowledge will

be intensified. This includes encouraging academics to develop new
bodies of work in Bahasa Malaysia, strengthening Institut Terjemahan
dan Buku Malaysia to translate international research and key
terminology into Bahasa Malaysia, and greater provision of training
courses in Bahasa Malaysia by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka and local
universities. The Government will also send Bahasa Malaysia teachers
abroad to train Malaysians overseas as instructors in Bahasa Malaysia
to further spread and strengthen the language.

These pools of talent have the advantage of having already completed

teacher training and can quickly start teaching. If primary sources
do not produce sufficient teachers, secondary sources such as retired
teachers will be tapped. Over time, the matching of what teachers have
been trained to teach and the actual subject they end up teaching will
also be improved. It is estimated that this should inject an additional
2,000 English language teachers into the system.

Strengthening the teaching of the English language

The Ministry will test the proficiency levels of all 61,000 English
language teachers by the end of 2012 using the CPT. Teachers will
be grouped into three categories based on their resultsproficient,
requires part-time immersive training over one year to reach
proficiency, and requires part-time immersive training over two years
to reach proficiency. The Ministry will consider rewarding the best
performers under the Incentive Payment for Education Subjects or
Bayaran Insentif Subjek Pendidikan. There is likely to be a small,
fourth group of teachers whose grasp of English is too weak to teach
the language and who will be redeployed. A pilot study involving 7,500
teachers from four states showed that a significant number of teachers
did not achieve the minimum proficiency level in English language and
a small number of teachers will need to be redeployed.
Teachers in urban and suburban areas who do not meet the proficiency
standard will be required to attend an English training course for
four hours per week, over a span of 44 weeks. These sessions will be
held outside school hours and will hence not disrupt the teaching and
learning process.
Teachers in rural areas that do not meet the proficiency standard
will be put through an intensive English training course by 2015. The
English training course comprises an 8-week immersion programme
and 8-week self-learning course. The immersion programme is an inperson, face-to-face course with 30 hours contact time each week. The
self-learning course is a modular, computer-based programme with 30
hours of self-directed learning per week. In total, the English training
course will provide 480 hours of lessons each time it is taken.
Teachers who do not meet the minimum proficiency standard after
attending the training course will be given up to two years to make
the necessary improvements. As the average non-proficient teacher
only requires training over two years to meet the proficiency standard,
it is anticipated that most who adhere to the training regime will
be able to pass the evaluation by 2015. Those who still do not meet
the proficiency standard will be tasked to teach other subjects or
redeployed.

The English Language Training Centre (ELTC) within the Ministry

will be strengthened to support the effective training of English
language teachers and to continuously develop English language
teaching and learning materials and programmes. The Ministry will
also launch a series of MBMMBI initiatives to strengthen the delivery
of English lessons. The OPS English programme focuses on improving
students listening and speaking skills and is in the process of being
scaled up following a successful pilot. OPS English teaching and
learning materials have been refined based on feedback from the pilot
project. Additionally, teachers will undergo training to ensure they
can effectively use these new tools to refocus lessons on listening and
speaking skills.
Comprehensive English remedial support has been introduced. In
Years 1 to 3, the existing LINUS programme has been expanded from
Bahasa Malaysia literacy and numeracy to include English literacy.
Additionally, the Ministry aims to increase differentiation of teaching
approaches using the new set system to help secondary school
students struggling with the English language. All students will take
a diagnostic test according to their grade level. Based on test results,

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

students will be assigned to a set with students of similar English

proficiency levels. Sets will be smaller than normal classes with each
set expected to be between 20 to 30 students. This system will allow
teachers to tailor pedagogical styles according to students skill level
and learning requirements.
Given the planned roll-out of the 1BestariNet system, the Ministry
has started exploring the use of ICT models to bring more effective
English instruction to students. ICT solutions have the dual advantage
of offering personalised learning customised to individual needs and
being quickly scalable. As discussed earlier in the chapter, one such
model is the blended learning model which integrates face-to-face and
technology-mediated instructional approaches in the classroom. In
addition, the Ministry is exploring self-directed online learning and
interactive online tutoring (Exhibit 4-8).
EXHIBIT 4-8
ICT models under consideration for English instruction
Model

Self-directed
online learning

Interactive
online tutoring

Key characteristics

Advantages

Adaptive learning software

enables learning at own
pace
No human facilitation
Various delivery channels
games, videos, audio
clips, eBooks

Flexibility over timing

Multiple programmes,
particularly for primary
level students, already
exist (although they
would need to be
mapped to the
Malaysian curriculum)

Small group or one-on-one

tutoring with a teacher
Various delivery channels
video conference, instant
messaging, phone calls
Can be paired with an
online learning platform

Accessibility to highquality teachers not

limited by geography
Students can receive
targeted coaching in
the areas where they
are weakest

Setting the stage for structural change

Strengthening English language subject teaching within the current
system structure is only the beginning of the journey. To truly
transform English language proficiency levels and achieve the 70%
target, the structure of the system will need to be refined to create
capacity for increased exposure time to the English language.
Increasing English exposure time has extensive operational
implications on teacher recruitment and training, curriculum
development, and potentially, school hours. Such a programme can
only be embarked upon if three criteria are met:
Bahasa Malaysia standards in National-type schools are equal to
those of National schools;
Delivery of existing English language classes is significantly
strengthened; and
Parents want an increase in exposure to the English language.
If all three criteria are met, the Ministry will offer the option of
increasing exposure time to the English language in Wave 2.

Wave 2 (2016 - 2020): Introducing structural

change
Successful execution of Wave 1 initiatives is a necessary prerequisite
for embarking upon deeper structural change in Wave 2. Only
when the education system is able to deliver universal operational
proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia and provide high-quality instruction in
the English language as a second language will the education system be
in a position to begin to create widespread bilingual proficiency.
In Wave 2, an improved LINUS programme and new Bahasa Malaysia
remedial classes for Years 1 to 6 should significantly increase the
standards of all students graduating from primary school. This coupled
with similar standards of Bahasa Malaysia curriculum and assessments
between National-type and National schools, will allow the Ministry to
offer parents of children in National-type schools the option of sending
their children for remedial classes during primary school or Remove
class from 2017.
Having focused on increasing English language teaching standards and
creating universal English literacy in Wave 1, the Ministry will continue
to raise proficiency in Wave 2. After-school remedial classes will be
introduced for students in Years 4 to 6 of primary school that are at
risk of falling behind in English language. If the criteria for structural
change are met, the Ministry will consider increasing the exposure
time to the English language from the current 15-20%, for example
via making an expanded Literature in English module compulsory at
both primary and secondary levels, delivered within existing school
hours. The Ministry will also explore the possibility of encouraging
schools to offer greater English language exposure to students outside
of existing school hours if requested by parents, such as grammar,
creative writing or drama classes delivered in English. In line with
the ongoing initiatives to improve students English proficiency, the
SPM English language subject paper will be made a compulsory pass
from 2016. Further, the recently established English Language Quality
and Standards Council or Majlis Penarafan Standard dan Kualiti
Bahasa Inggeris will be responsible for monitoring English language
proficiency among students and tracking the impact of these initiatives.
By 2020, the most popular additional language options such as
Chinese language, Tamil, and Arabic will be offered at more schools.
This will likely require training and deploying more language teachers.
In addition, the teaching of additional languages will be integrated
into instruction time at secondary school, as is the case in the revised
KSSR. Larger schools may, subject to resourcing, offer several language
options while smaller schools will explore leveraging the use of
technology to increase the number of language options on offer.

Wave 3 (2021 - 2025): Scaling up structural

change
The Ministry will carefully analyse the success of the structural changes
introduced in Wave 2 and conduct a thorough National Dialogue to
solicit feedback. If outcomes and feedback are positive, models that
have been most successful in creating operational proficiency in both
Bahasa Malaysia and English language and improving access to an
additional language will be rolled out nationally.

4-14

4-15

In striving towards achieving the targets of 90% and 70% operational

proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia and English language respectively,
attention will be given to ensure that students receive high quality
instruction in both Bahasa Malaysia and English language, that an
adequate supply of trained teachers are available and that students
that fall behind are adequately supported. Comparable support will be
provided for the teaching of additional languages.

The Malaysian special needs education system can be analysed along

five dimensions:

Groups with Specific Needs

Curriculum flexibility, relevance and quality: The degree

of flexibility within the curriculum to allow for adaptation to the
specific requirements of special education needs children, and
the extent to which the curriculum equips them with life skills in
preparation for adult/working life;

The Ministry will ensure that students with specific needs, such
as students with special needs, indigenous and other minority
students like Orang Asli and Penan, gifted students and students
in under-enrolled schools have the opportunity to get a high quality
education that is relevant to their needs.
There are a few groups of students whose circumstances or needs are
different enough from the mainstream that they are likely to fall
through the gaps and not reach their full potential unless specifically
catered to. These groups include children in under-enrolled schools,
students from indigenous and minority groups including Orang Asli
and Penan, gifted children, and children with special needs.
Programmes, schools, and initiatives that cater to the additional needs
of these students will allow them to benefit equally from the Malaysian
education system.

Special education needs

In Malaysia, students with special education needs include students
with visual impairment, hearing impairment, speech difficulties,
physical disabilities, multiple disabilities and learning disabilities
such as autism, Downs Syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder, and dyslexia. The landscape of special education involves
multiple stakeholders including parents, NGOs, the Ministry of
Women, Family and Community Development, the Ministry of Health,
Ministry of Human Resource and the mass media. These stakeholders
play important roles as supporters, enablers, advocates and delivery
partners in the education of children.
In line with existing policy, special education needs students can
currently choose from three different schooling options:
Special education schools: Schools for students with hearing,
seeing and/or learning disabilities. There are currently 28 primary
schools and 5 secondary schools in the system;

Early identification, intervention and healthcare support:

The systems, processes and facilities available for the early
identification and treatment of developmental issues and ongoing
healthcare support for special education needs students;

Teachers and other specialists: The availability of a sufficient

number of well-trained teachers, specialists and resource personnel
to aid and educate special education needs students;
Infrastructure and finances: The availability of a robust
support structure in the form of technical aids, physical support
infrastructure as well as sufficient funding; and
Public awareness and involvement: Public awareness on
issues relating to special education needs student and community
involvement in their education.

Identifying special education needs early and providing

healthcare support
UNESCO estimates that on average, 10% of the population in
developing countries have special needs. In Malaysia, only 1% of
the population has been identified as having special education
needs, versus this global estimated average of 10%. This suggests an
underestimation of the number of special education needs children in
the country.
The current waiting time for the assessment and intervention
of developmental issues in Malaysia exceeds six months. This is
largely due to limited specialists (such as clinical psychologists,
speech therapists, and audiologists), the underutilisation of
screening tools (such as MoHs Health Record Books), and a lack
of standardised approaches for detection. The Ministry intends to
forge strong collaborations with the Ministry of Health to fast track
early identification and diagnosis, and plans to improve inclusion
programmes at the ECCE level.

Providing flexible, relevant and high quality curriculum

Only 6% of Malaysias special education needs children are part of

inclusive programmes. Currently, schools do not have the ability to
assess or baseline their special education needs inclusion programmes
and therefore do not know where they stand or how to improve.
While the Ministry has developed a tailored curriculum for certain
special education needs student groups (for example, Kemahiran Asas
Inclusive Education Programmes: Mainstream schools that
Individu Masalah Penglihatan for blind students and Bahasa Isyarat
include one to five special education needs students in mainstream
Komunikasi for deaf students), there is less support for students with
classes.
learning disabilities such as autism.


Special education needs students are not readily employable due to

the lack of a clear career pathway. In 2012, 1,934 special education
Special Education Integration Programme (SEIP):
Mainstream schools with specific classes dedicated to special
education needs students. 1,315 primary schools and 738 secondary
schools of this type currently exist in the system; and

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

needs students from Special Education, Vocational and Mainstream

Schools will complete their Form 5 education. There are currently no
work placement programmes in these schools and it is unclear how
many of these students will be able to find jobs. The Ministry intends
to move towards a more applied and vocational curriculum for special
education needs children and to introduce transition programmes
that prepare students for their working life. It also plans to scale up
the accessibility and quality of special education needs vocational
programmes.

Creating a pipeline of trained teachers and other specialists

Malaysia faces an acute shortage of qualified teachers and special
education needs specialists. For example, there are only 50 clinical
psychologists, 157 speech therapists and 157 audiologists employed
by the government. The Ministry will allocate resources to support
the training of specialists and special education needs teachers, and
the sharing and dissemination of knowledge, experience and best
practices. The Ministry also plans to train all teachers on the basics
of handling special education needs students and ensure that special
education teachers are equipped with the most relevant knowledge in
the field.

Offering robust support infrastructure and finances

Current mainstream schools lack disabled-friendly facilities such as
ramps, railings, handicap toilets and lifts. The Ministry will review
the state of these facilities and provide upgrades where needed to
ensure conducive learning environments for special education needs
students. It will also ensure provision of appropriate technical aids for
the successful operation of an integrated education system. Examples
include Braille typing machines for visually impaired students and
hearing aids for hearing impaired students.
The allocation of financial resources towards the development of
special education needs education will be based on a careful case-bycase, cost-benefit analysis. Initially, the Ministry will direct resources
towards the piloting of holistic inclusive education programmes in
select schools, before expanding successful programmes to more
schools in the system.

Creating public awareness and involvement

Public awareness about discriminatory practices against special
education needs students and their societal acceptance are quite low.
Children and teachers in mainstream schools lack understanding and
empathy towards special education needs students.
The Ministry aims to increase public awareness to facilitate a move
towards a rights-based model of disability. It also intends to increase
awareness among service providers to allow for greater synergy and
more efficient use of resources. Examples of specific initiatives that
the Ministry will pilot include a buddy system that pairs up special
education needs children with buddies from preschools to secondary,
after-school activities for special education needs students that involve
the community and the training of community personnel.

Image by anuarsalleh, Flickr CC 2.0

The Roadmap: Moving towards inclusive

education for special education needs
students
Following the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on
Special Needs Education (1994), many high-performing education
systems have adopted a more inclusive approach to special needs
education. The statement says that those with special needs must
have access to mainstream schools and that mainstream schools with
an inclusive orientation are the most effective means of overcoming
discriminatory attitudes, creating welcoming communities and
building an inclusive society.
Similarly, Article 28 of Malaysias Persons with Disabilities Act 2008
affirms that special needs children are to be given the necessary
support to facilitate their full and equal participation in education.
Based on international best practices and current national policy, the
Ministry is committed to moving more students with special needs
towards the inclusive education programme, and raising the overall
quality of provision.
The Ministry will implement a series of initiatives to achieve these
objectives with the first wave focused on strengthening existing
programmes. The second wave will focus on scaling up initiatives,
and increasing the pool of experts available to support students
with specials needsboth to deal with an increasing number of such
students and the broader range of special needs that are emerging. The
third wave will evaluate these initiatives and consolidate successful
ones. In implementing initiatives in all three waves, the Ministry will
collaborate with specialist organisations such as the Southeast Asian
Ministers of Education Organisation Regional Centre for Special
Education Needs (SEAMEO-SEN).

4-16

4-17

Image by Yiie, Flickr CC 2.0

Wave 1 (2013 - 2015): Strengthening existing

foundations
Identifying special education needs and intervening early, and
providing healthcare support
The Ministry will adopt a policy whereby schooling options for
special education needs students will be linked to carefully identified
competency levels. High-functioning special education needs students
who can cope with the mainstream curriculum and assessments will
be encouraged to attend inclusive education programmes. Moderatefunctioning special education needs students will attend SEIP. Lowfunctioning special education needs students will be encouraged to
attend special education schools where they can expect to learn a
simplified curriculum focused on basic skills, life skills, and social
skills.
The Ministry will enhance and ensure accreditation by 2013 for the 15
Pusat Perkhidmatan Pendidikan Khas (3PK), which provide support
to special education needs students. It will also increase outsourced
therapy services in schools.

Providing flexible, relevant and high quality curriculum

The Ministry will continue efforts to raise the quality and relevance of
education by incorporating more vocational skills such as reflexology
and computer graphics into all special needs curricula, upgrading
infrastructure and equipment in both mainstream and special
education schools, improving special education service centre facilities,
providing basic special education training modules at the IPG and
IPTA, providing in-service training modules with differentiated
expertise levels (from basic to expert), and tailoring curriculum and
assessment by student ability. The Ministry will engage with employers
to support these efforts and develop a workplace transition programme
to support special education needs graduates in entering the
workplace. As a result of these efforts, the Ministry is projecting a 15%

annual increase in enrolment from approximately 50,000 students in

2011, to 88,000 by 2015. Of these 88,000 students, 30% are targeted
for enrolment in inclusive education programmes.
In addition, the Ministry aims to develop partnership options with
vocational training institutes to provide alternative special education
venues. There are also plans to collaborate with the private sector and
NGOs to buy seats at existing vocational training centres and to define
clear guidelines for course providers to help institutionalise the quality
of the special education needs curriculum.

Creating a pipeline of trained teachers and other specialists

The Ministry plans to make special education needs a core subject in
IPG and IPT syllabi, to ensure that all teachers are equipped with basic
skills and awareness of the needs of students with special education
needs. In addition, in-service training programmes by BPG and IAB
will be offered to teachers and school leaders who are interested
in specialising in special education needs teaching and curriculum
development. The goal is to train an additional 1600 teachers during
the first wave of the Blueprint. The curriculum for these teachers will
include topics like pedagogical approaches, psychology and techniques
to teaching special education needs students.
The Ministry is willing to accept the services of volunteers from the
community to complement the role of teachers. Community volunteers
will assist the main teachers in implementing daily academic tasks
with students, creating materials for the classroom and meeting the
intervention requirements of students.

Preparing strong supporting infrastructure and finances

The Ministry aims to double efforts to refit existing schools according
to basic special education needs. The needs of special education needs
students will also be taken into account in the building of new schools
and facilities.

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

4-18

Image by Yiie, Flickr CC 2.0

Creating public awareness and involvement

The Ministry will roll out an integrated communications programme
to raise awareness of children with special education needs, including
the development of an integrated web portal and a national media
campaign including ads, through electronic and printed media.

Wave 2 (2016 - 2020): Scaling up initiatives

Identifying special education needs and intervening early, and
providing healthcare support
In Wave 2, the Ministry will scale up provision of early intervention
services, increase inclusion programmes within mainstream preschool
settings, set and improve the standard of support services for special
education needs children. The Ministry will also collaborate with the
Ministry of Health to fast track and formalise the process of early
diagnosis of special needs children.

Creating a pipeline of trained teachers and other specialists

The Ministry will focus on further strengthening teacher training
programmes to improve in the implementation of the Individualised
Education Programme (IEP). The Ministry will collaborate with the
Ministry of Health to establish a multi-disciplinary group made up of
doctors, therapist and other specialist to train teachers. The Ministry
will also support and train the management of schools that volunteer
for inclusive education programmes.

Offering robust support infrastructure and finances

Building on the partnerships forged in Wave 1, the Ministry will
further strengthen its relationships with other organisations, such
as NGOs, international organisations, private sector organisations,
and government agencies. For instance, the Ministry will explore
further cooperation with the Ministry of Human Resources to find
work placements for special education needs graduates. Partnership
support could come in the form of funding, the development of joint
workshops and programmes for students, and professional services

from specialists such as audiologists and occupational therapists. The

Ministry will also work towards the goal of ensuring that community
volunteer support is available to all schools during this wave. On the
infrastructure front, the target is to have all schools upgraded with
disabled-friendly facilities by 2020 and to leverage technology to boost
the learning of special education needs students.

Creating public awareness and involvement

Following pilot buddy programmes in Wave 1, the Ministry aims to
roll out buddy clubs in every inclusive school, where every special
education needs student will be paired with another student from the
same school. It will also continue its efforts to scale up the integrated
communications campaign to raise awareness about special education
needs students. The Ministry will also launch an initiative to create a
training module for educational management for community centres
and utilise a train the trainer model to train community centre
teachers.

Wave 3 (2021 - 2025): Evaluating and

consolidating initiatives
In Wave 3, the Ministry will evaluate the success of all initiatives from
the first two waves, and develop a roadmap for the future accordingly.
The aim is to give every child with special needs access to a highquality and relevant education that is tailored to his or her particular
needs, to have every teacher equipped with basic knowledge of special
education, and to have 75% of students with special needs enrolled in
inclusive programmes by 2025.

Under-enrolled schools
Currently, 34% of Malaysian primary schools have fewer than 150
students and are officially classified as under-enrolled schools or
Sekolah Kurang Murid (SKM). They account for just 7% of total
primary school enrolment.

4-19

On average, SKM produce weaker educational outcomes in comparison

with other public schools. Their average composite scores of 68% trail
other public schools by 4 percentage points. This under-performance
is linked to three demographic and structural challenges. Firstly,
73% of under-enrolled schools are located in distant rural areas. This
requires students to travel long distances to attend school and reduces
the likelihood of securing high-performing teachers and principals.
Secondly, these schools lack the benefits associated with scale: cocurriculum offerings, better facilities, and interactions with a more
diverse set of peers. Thirdly, many of these schools are located in lowincome areas and face difficulties associated with lower socio-economic
status. Low-income families face greater challenges in keeping
their children in school due to the costs associated with supplies,
uniforms, and transport, which often leads to higher rates of student
absenteeism.
Maintenance expenses are seven times more per student at SKMs
compared to those of regular schools (Exhibit 4-9). These higher costs
coupled with lower teacher-student ratios of 1:6 versus the national
average of 1:13 results in SKMs being more expensive to operate.
Despite the significant challenges involved, there are some highperforming SKMs that have beaten the odds to produce exemplary
student outcomes and become the pride of their communities.
Examples include SK Ulu Lubai, an under-enrolled school in Sarawak
that was one of the best primary schools in the country in 2011. These
schools are encouraging case studies that provide unique insight on
what works in the unusual circumstances that under-enrolled schools
face.
EXHIBIT 4-9
Infrastructure maintenance expense by school type

Average infrastructure maintenance

expense per student (2011)
RM

1,468

facilitate the relocation of schools on a case-by-case basis based on

discussions with the local community. The Ministry aims to improve
learning outcomes and reduce operating costs at all under-enrolled
schools to match the performance of other public schools.

Case study: SK Ulu Lubai

Despite being situated in a remote farming community, SK Ulu
Lubai actively engages and involves the community in improving
student outcomes. Through its efforts, SK Ulu Lubai has
continuously achieved 100% passes in UPSR since 2006.
SK Ulu Lubai has received significant national and international
recognition. Recently in 2011, the school was selected as one of
the High Performing Schools under the NKRA initiative the first
rural school in the country to achieve this status. In 2009, SK Ulu
Lubai beat 49 other submissions to receive the Commonwealth
Award for its ability to deliver effective education in difficult
circumstances. Additionally, SK Ulu Lubai is also the recipient of
five national education ministry awards, 14 state awards, and 26
district level awards.

Wave 1 (2013 - 2015): Implementing short-term quick-win

improvements
195
SKM

Average
primary schools

SOURCE: EMIS database; Development Division

The Roadmap: Working with communities to put students

needs first
The Ministry is committed to working with parents and local
stakeholders in determining the future of their schools and ensuring
that there is no compromise on the quality of their childrens
education. For all under-enrolled schools, this will mean scaling up
efforts to improve educational quality. To create and scale learning
environments that are conducive for all students, the Ministry will

Under-enrolled schools are expected to particularly benefit from

some of the enhancements that will be rolled out across the Malaysian
education system. These initiatives include LINUS 2.0, parent and
community engagement toolkits, and infrastructure improvements. To
ensure under-enrolled schools maximise and build on these benefits,
the Ministry will roll out a School Improvement Toolkit that caters to
the unique challenges that under-enrolled schools face. Drawing on the
experiences of schools such as SK Ulu Lubai, the toolkit will provide
real-life case-studies of successful leadership, administration, lesson
delivery, and parent engagement models. To facilitate the toolkits
application, principals and teachers will participate in coaching
sessions and observation visits to top-performing under-enrolled
schools.
Tailored teacher training will be made available to teachers to provide
them with the skills necessary to lead multi-grade classes. The Ministry
will also review the existing teacher-student ratio and ICT innovations

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

on distance learning to determine the best way to give these students

access to the full spectrum of the curriculum.

Wave 2 (2016 - 2020): Introducing structural change

In the longer-term, two options will be made available to communities
regarding the future of under-enrolled schools: relocation or
maintaining the status quo. Relocated students will have access to
scaled-up learning environments, interaction with more diverse
peers, and a broader range of sports and co-curricular activities.
School relocations may lead to higher transportation costs, student
adjustment difficulties, and the loss of community identity. As such,
communities can alternatively choose to maintain the status quo and
risk not benefitting from the scaled-up benefits available only at larger
schools.
The PPDs will hold discussions with local stakeholders, parents, and
school leadership to understand the various perspectives and to arrive
at the best possible outcome for the community. Should communities
opt for relocation, the PPDs will work with them to determine
timelines and the relocation method best suited to their circumstances.
Depending on the situation, the Ministry will employ a combination
of measures such as subsidising school transportation and providing
access to school counsellors for newly relocated students.
For communities that choose to maintain their schools, the Ministry
will commit to continuous school improvements tailored to underenrolled schools. In addition to continuing Wave 1 improvements,
the Ministry will introduce educational software, teaching aids, and
virtual learning environments specifically designed to raise educational
outcomes at schools in remote areas.

Wave 3 (2021 - 2025): Completing structural changes

The Ministry will continue regular dialogue with communities that
have under-enrolled schools. It will also evaluate the education
outcomes of schools and students relocated during Wave 2 on an
ongoing basis to ensure that any issue that may arise is addressed
promptly, in a manner suitable to the situation. For all remaining
under-enrolled schools, the Ministry will evaluate the impact of the
various Wave 1 and 2 improvement measures, identifying areas for
improvement and replicating successful practices.

Indigenous and other minority groups

Indigenous and other minority groups comprise groups such as Orang
Asli, Penan, Peribumi Sabah and Peribumi Sarawak. They account
for 4% of all Malaysian primary and secondary school students. 68%
of these students live in rural areas, and 80% in the states of Sabah
and Sarawak. Statistics on student outcomes of indigenous and other
minority groups in National schools apart from those regarding
Orang Asli students is limited. As such, this section focuses primarily
on the performance of primary schools with a predominantly Orang
Asli student population. (For ease of communication, the writeup in this section will use the term Orang Asli National School or
Sekolah Kebangsaan Orang Asli (SK Asli)). Interviews with teachers
however, indicate that indigenous and other minority groups students
experience challenges comparable to those of their Orang Asli peers.
Thus, while acknowledging that some difference in experience is likely
to exist between groups, the Orang Asli experience will be used as a
gauge for how indigenous and other minority groups are faring, at least

Image by ming1967, Flickr CC 2.0

What happens when a school is relocated?

The Ministry is committed to ensuring the sustainable provision
of quality education to all students, including in rural locations.
In the long term, this may require changes to the current
system of under-enrolled schools. The Ministry recognises the
significant impact this would representfor students, families,
and the broader community leveland will have comprehensive
discussions with local stakeholders before committing to any
action. Should local communities decide that relocation is in
their best interest, they may choose between several options
depending on their needs:
Merge: Transfer students to a nearby school of the same type;
Move: Relocate under-enrolled school to a more populated area,
while retaining the original school name and identity; or
Wind Down: For communities with declining and very small
school-age populations, the school will wind down operations
and redeploy teachers upon departure of the final student
cohort. The Ministry will assist students eligible for new intake
with admission to a nearby school.

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4-21

until better data is available.

Drop-out rates for Orang Asli students is higher and consequently
educational outcomes are poorer when compared to the national
average. Only 30% of Orang Asli students complete secondary school,
less than half the national average of 72%. Compared to the national
average of 87%, only 61% of students at SK Asli pass the core subjects
in the UPSR national examinations. Only 1% of public schools are in
the poor performance band (Bands 6 and 7) compared to 35% of SK
Asli (Exhibit 4-10).
EXHIBIT 4-10
Orang Asli student outcomes

objective is to reduce the drop-out rate between Year 6 and Form 1.

This programme was piloted in 2007, and thus far, it appears that
attendance rates for students have been increasing every year, from
85.7% in 2007 to 97.6% in 2010;
The inclusion of indigenous and other minority languages in the
curriculum. Under the new KSSR introduced in 2011, the Ministry
also expanded the elective language choices to include Iban,
Kadazan-Dusun and Semai; and
The provision of Kelas Dewasa Orang Asli dan Peribumi (KEDAP)
for Orang Asli adults to provide them with sufficient literacy and
numeracy to support their childrens learning.

The Roadmap: Improving access and outcomes

Percentage students that

complete secondary school

Percentage of students
passing core subjects at UPSR

School distribution by Bands

Percent of students (2008)

Percent of students (2010)

Percent of schools (2011)

72%

87%

100% =
92
2%

7,614

61%

34%

Bands
1&2

65%

Bands
3,4&5

62%

The Ministrys current policy is to provide Orang Asli and Penan

students with educational opportunities relevant to their needs.
As such, in July 2012, the Ministry launched a dedicated 5-year
transformation plan for Orang Asli education that will run from 2013
to 2018, that is during Waves 1 and 2 of the Blueprint. A comparable
plan for the minority groups in Sabah and Sarawak was launched in
April 2013.

30%

35%
Orang Asli

National
average

SK (Asli)

National
average

1%
SK (Asli)

Bands
6&7

Primary
schools

SOURCE: Dropout Prevention Initiatives for Malaysian Indigenous Orang Asli Children, Md Nor et al 2011;
Day School Management Division

Several economic, geographic, and cultural factors limit Orang Asli

students access to quality education. Firstly, higher incidences of
poverty and the tendency to live in remote locations means that many
Orang Asli students do not attend preschool and thus start from a low
literacy and numeracy base in Year 1. Additionally, Bahasa Malaysia
is not the mother tongue for most of these students, which further
impedes learning. Secondly, principals and teachers report that
existing training programmes do not sufficiently prepare them for
the complexities of working with these communities. They struggle to
support students on multiple levels: from helping them integrate with
their non-Orang Asli peers, to convincing them and their families of
the value of pursuing basic and further education.
The Ministry has undertaken multiple initiatives to address the issues
raised above. Key among them are:
The development of a contextualised curriculum (Kurikulum Asli
dan Penan, KAP) tailored to Orang Asli and Penan students.
KAP was piloted in 2007 at 14 Orang Asli and six Penan schools,
and contains two elementsa minimum adequate syllabus and
a curriculum that has been contextualised to the Orang Asli and
Penan communities. Initial results have been promising. For
example, KAP students are reportedly more confident, achieve
higher levels of literacy and numeracy, and have better self-esteem;
The development of a Comprehensive Special Model School (K9)
which provides residential facilities from Year 1 to Form 3. The main

Wave 1 (2013 - 2015): Improving access and laying foundations

for further reform
The focus of Wave 1 will be on improving enrolment and attendance
rates of Orang Asli students from primary through to secondary
school. The first major initiative is to expand the number of K9
schools from two to six, followed by infrastructural upgrades for
existing schools and residential facilities, and the construction of new
residential schools.
Secondly, the Ministry will focus on curriculum enhancements. This
includes updating KAP to ensure alignment with the design framework
and principles of KSSR, and the broadening of the Basic Vocational
Education or Pendidikan Asas Vokasional (PAV) curriculum at
secondary schools to offer more class options. The Ministry will
also roll out the KEDAP programme to benefit unserved remote
communities, especially in Sabah and Sarawak.
Thirdly, the Ministry will improve teacher recruitment, support, and
training. To achieve this, the Ministry will increase the number of
Orang Asli candidates in teacher training programmes, and strengthen
resources for indigenous education research at the five National
Centres of Excellence for Indigenous Pedagogy. To better support
teachers in terms of classroom learning activities, the Ministry will
expand the number of teacher assistants recruited from Orang Asli
communities. The parent engagement toolkit that is being rolled out
to all schools in Malaysia (see Chapter 7 on System Structure for more
information) will also contain specific information for teachers and
principals on working with indigenous and minority communities.
Lastly, to establish accurate performance baselines and goals for all
indigenous and other minority groups students, the Ministry will refine
the student data collection processes. This information will be used
to inform the development of further strategies for non-Orang Asli or
Penan indigenous and other minority groups student.

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

Wave 2 (2016 - 2020): Raising standards

The second wave of reform will be centred on raising learning
outcomes and curricular standards for all indigenous and other
minority groups students using tailored interventions. Using enhanced
data from improved data management processes, the Ministry will
support JPNs and PPDs in tailoring interventions and providing
need-based assistance for various indigenous and other minority
groups communities. During this period, the Ministry will decrease the
number of SK Asli schools in Bands 6 and 7 to zero, and refocus efforts
on boosting the standards of all SK Asli schools. The Ministry will
also pilot and launch ICT education programmes to create interactive,
culturally-relevant content for indigenous students, and improve
access to high-quality learning materials for students located in remote
regions.
The Ministry will also review the KAP curriculum to determine whether
it should be extended from a purely primary school curriculum to
encompass lower secondary education, or even whether it should be
eliminated completely once the basics of literacy and numeracy have
been established. If a decision is made to retain the KAP curriculum,
the Ministry will look into the development of dedicated examination
papers for UPSR that are aligned with KAP curriculum standards.

Wave 3 (2021 - 2025): Continuing successful practices

The Ministry will evaluate the impact of Waves 1 and 2 and identify
areas for improvements. The most successful practices will continue to
be scaled up nationally.

Education for high-performing and gifted

students
As Malaysia becomes a developed economy, grooming top talent
will become increasingly important towards achieving our growth
objectives. Competitive Asian economies, such as Hong Kong,
Singapore, and South Korea, employ education for gifted students as a
driver of human capital development and national innovation. These
countries provide an education for gifted children through a two-step
process. Firstly, the governments identify gifted students, through
measures of aptitude, as well as Mathematics and verbal achievement
scores. Next, the students are admitted into specialised programmes at
the preschool, primary, and secondary levels.
There are currently some programmes in Malaysia that cater to highperforming and gifted students in the private and public sector. Within
the public sector, the PERMATApintar National Gifted Programme
conducts School Holiday Camps, a series of Science, Technology, and
Mathematics enrichment programmes for students from Year 3 to
Form 3. There are also dedicated residential schools for high-achieving
students from Forms 1 to 5. However, there are limited centralised
policies for the long-term planning, administration, and evaluation of
the gifted segment.

Wave 1 (2013 - 2015): Identifying areas for improvement

Over the next three years, the Ministry will benchmark local
programmes against other systems with top-performing programmes
for gifted students to identify areas for improvement and replicate
successful practices. Additionally, the Ministry will establish working
partnerships with the private sector and leading research institutions
to start developing its own set of gifted and talented programmes.

Wave 2 (2016 - 2020): Piloting new gifted and talented

programmes
Using the research and partnerships established in Wave 1, the
Ministry will start exploring and piloting programmes for high
achievers (typically estimated in research to form 15% of the student
population), and for gifted students (1% of the student population):
The secondary level accelerated curriculum programme will allow
high achievers to complete secondary school and take the SPM
in four rather than five years, and to undergo more enrichment
activities such as independent research projects. Students will be
selected for entry after UPSR, and will be regularly tested each year
to ensure the programme is beneficial and has no developmental
drawbacks;

The primary level accelerated curriculum programme will allow

high achievers to complete primary school and take the UPSR
in five rather than six years, and to undergo more enrichment
activities such as individual project work. Students will be regularly
tested each year to ensure the programme is beneficial and has no
The Roadmap: Developing a national strategy for gifted students
developmental drawbacks; and
Wave 1 of the reform will focus on building a better understanding of
the needs of gifted children in Malaysia, and designing programmes
The gifted and talented programme for the 1% of the student
that address their needs. Wave 2 will see the piloting of these new
population that is gifted in a specific area such as Mathematics,
programmes, with nationwide scale-up occurring in Wave 3.
Linguistics, Music and Visual Arts. Students will have a tailored,
flexible education programme that enables them to receive

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instruction from experts in their field while still participating in

mainstream schooling.

Wave 3 (2021 - 2025): Scaling up success

During the final phase of the Roadmap, the Ministry will refine the
design of the pilot programmes and gradually scale up the pilot
programmes nationwide.

Accelerating school
improvement
The Ministry will ensure that JPNs and PPDs are strengthened and
refocused to support student learning in schools and improve the
overall performance of schools. Measures that will be undertaken
include:
Enhancing the practice of providing differentiated support to
schools by their performance band;
Strengthen and empower the JPNs and PPDs to tailor their
interventions with schools to account for the specific context of
each school; and
Making JPNs and PPDs more responsible and accountable for
the overall performance of schools.

Special award schools

Delivering a consistent student learning experience for all Malaysian
students means ensuring that across 10,000 schools, the curriculum
taught is a true reflection of the intent of the Written curriculum,
students are receiving proficient instruction in both Bahasa Malaysia
and English language, all teachers are teaching to a high standard, and
programmes are offered to cater to groups with specific needs.
Achieving this consistently across schools requires more than wellconceived policies. It requires tailored support for schools by need, and
a concerted focus on school improvement at every level of
administration, from the Head Office in Putrajaya, through to all 138
district offices across the country.
Among the more recent efforts launched by the Ministry to improve
school performance is the NKRA School Improvement Programme
(SIP) launched in 2010. The SIP provides targeted support for schools
in Bands 6 and 7, through principal and teacher coaches, and increased
monitoring from the PPDs. Additional efforts to tailor support
include the provisions for Special Award schoolsHigh-Performing
Schools (HPS) and Cluster Schools that have been recognised for their
outstanding performance.
The success of these measures in improving student learning outcomes
varies significantly between states. As Exhibit 3-22 illustrated, at
UPSR, the best performing state, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya,
has an average GPS score 33% higher than the lowest performing
state, Sabah. Similar levels of variance exist at SPM level at the
district and states. For example in Kelantan and Sarawak, the average
composite score ranges from 49% until 75% compared with Johor and
Terengganu whereby the variance is smaller (Exhibit 4-11).
Differences in wealth or urban/rural status alone appear insufficient

The Ministry has two types of special award schools that have
been recognised for their outstanding performance.
High Performing Schools (HPS) were introduced in 2010
under the National Key Results Area (NKRA) to recognise
the best schools in the country. HPS consistently produce
excellent academic and non-academic student outcomes,
have a distinctive character, and are capable of competing
internationally. Schools are selected after a rigorous selection
process that looks at two categories: (i) academic achievement;
and (ii) performance in co-curricular activities. There are 66 HPS
to date. In recognition of their achievements, each HPS receives
an allocation of RM700,000 in their first year, RM500,000 in the
second year, and RM300,000 annually thereafter to invest in
school improvement programmes of their choice. They have
greater operational flexibility on specific matters relating to
student intake, financial management and human resourcing.
Cluster Schools are schools that are at the forefront of
innovation and excellence in a niche area. Cluster Schools were
introduced in 2007 to serve as models for other schools in the
system and span a broad range of specialties such as art and
music, science and technology. As with HPS, schools need to
apply for consideration as a cluster school. A Cluster School
receives greater operational flexibility on how it spends its
money to develop its niche area, and can select up to 10% of its
student intake. There are currently 170 schools in the system.

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

to explain the variance in performance. For example, Selangor and

Penang, which have two of the highest household income levels
in Malaysia, only produce average performances with significant
variance between districts. By contrast, Johor, a state with an average
household income level, performs in the top third of all states, and has
one of the lowest variances in UPSR student performance.
EXHIBIT 4-11
Average composite scores for primary schools by district
Composite scores1 (2011)

Composite scores
>75
71-75
66-70
61-65
<60

Strong

Weak

Image by CARAT, Flickr CC 2.0

Rural schools
As discussed in previous chapters, the Ministry has long been
committed to reducing inequities in educational outcomes
between rural and urban schools. While clear progress has been
made over the past decade, the Ministry intends to further halve
the achievement gap between urban and rural schools by 2020.
1 Based on average composite scores of all primary schools within each PPD
NOTE: Average composite scores are rounded to the nearest whole number
SOURCE: National Key Result Area (NKRA)

The variance in performance suggests that some states and districts

have, through sheer discipline and administrative skill, managed to
drive significant improvement across all schools and maintain narrow
performance gaps between the best and lower-performing schools. The
student learning experience that these administrations have managed
to create has to be scaled up from a handful of schools to all schools in
the system. High-performing school systems recognise that the only
way to do this is by creating a strong middle layernamely the layer of
management between the Ministry and the schools. In Malaysias case,
this means empowering the JPNs and PPDs.

The Roadmap: Accelerating school

improvement through states and districts
Analysis of twenty of the most improved school systems including
Singapore, South Korea, and the UK reveals that successful education
transformations drive change through an effective middle layer
between the Ministry and the school. State success stories such as that
of Johor and Terengganu also suggest that strong state and district
management practices are key to creating widespread impact (see page
4-28 for case study on Johor for an illustrative example on effective
practices).

Wave 1 (2013 - 2015): Transforming state and

district leadership
States and districts that use administration to drive success, give
the Ministry insight into what a district needs to be successful.
Armed with this new information, the Ministry has developed a state
and district transformation programme (District Transformation
Programme) to enable all states and districts to substantially improve

To that end, the Ministry is giving careful consideration to how

the different contexts of rural and urban schools will affect the
implementation of all the initiatives set out in this Blueprint.
Additionally, four initiatives are expected to deliver particular
benefits for rural schools:
Improving school infrastructure: The Ministry has established
baseline and basic infrastructure requirements for creating a
conducive learning environment in schools. It is thus rolling out
a series of infrastructure upgrades by phases, and will start
implementation with rural schools in Sabah and Sarawak.
Transforming under-enrolled schools or Sekolah Kurang
Murid (SKM): A large proportion of under-enrolled schools are
located in rural and remote areas. These schools will benefit
from a new School Improvement Toolkit that is designed with the
unique challenges of SKMs in mind, and from the introduction of
ICT innovations such as distance and blended learning. Teachers
in these schools will also be trained to teach multi-grade classes.
Increasing the quality of teachers and school leaders: The
Ministry is deploying teacher and principal coaches (SISC+
and SIPartners+) to Bands 5, 6 and 7 schools, many of which
are rural schools. The Ministry is also investigating ways of
encouraging more high performing teachers and principals to
take up appointments in rural schools.
Providing equitable funding: The Ministry is adopting a needs
based approach towards funding. Under this approach, schools
that face greater challenges in meeting the system aspirations
set out in the Blueprint will be given more support. In the case
of rural schools, for example, this may mean extra funds to build
hostels, provide transportation services, or provide after-school
enrichment activities.

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schools. By 2015, the programme aims to reduce the number of Band

7 schools to zero, reduce the urban-rural gap by 25%, and increase
student attendance to 95%.

Empowering local leadership

The Ministry will shift the responsibility of engaging with schools
to the PPDs, and have the Head Office and JPNs adopt a more
strategic role. The officers at the federal level will minimise direct
school engagement and focus on setting policies and strategy while
providing central services such as data collection and curriculum and
assessment development.
Similarly, the JPN role will focus on supporting PPDs in delivery of
their new responsibilities and will have minimal direct interaction with
schools. The JPN will be responsible for determining district targets,
managing the performance of PPDs, facilitating collaboration between
districts, and allocating resources to districts that need it most.
The PPDs will become the frontline and support the improvement of
school performance. Even more so than they do currently, they will
engage directly with schools on a regular basis to coach, mentor, and
monitor performance. This expanded role will involve:

Setting targets for individual schools;

Providing coaching to teachers and principals through the School
Improvement Specialist Coaches (SISC+) teacher coaching
programme and School Improvement Partner (SIPartner+)
principal coaching programme;
Monitoring and using data to inform school improvement activities;
Holding principals and teachers accountable for their performance
and holding performance dialogues;
Creating collaboration across schools, for example through rollingout best practices; and
Targeting resource deployment to schools that need it most.

Anchoring the system to common goals

The Ministry has developed a set of KPIs anchored on the system
goals of access, quality, equity, unity, and efficiency. These KPIs have
been cascaded downwards from the Ministry to schools, ensuring
consistency and coherency of targets throughout the system. Starting
at the national level, each JPN, PPD, and school will have their

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

What practices really make a difference to student outcomes?

The Ministry found a high degree of commonality between practices
of rapidly improving and good schools. Conversely, there was a
contrast between the practices of these rapidly improving and good
schools with under-performing schools.
Under-performing schools generally struggled with the number of
programmes they were expected to implement, and reported feeling
stretched and overwhelmed. In rapidly improving or good schools on
the other hand, principals had a strong understanding of what was
critical for their schools and acted decisively to focus their teachers
and school community on a set of core practices for implementation.
This illustrates the critical role that principals play in shaping school
performance.

3. Tailor support to the needs of students: Good schools also

tailor the support they provide to students, particularly those who
are weaker. In Johor, for instance, all schools are required to group
students into three categories: weak, average and strong. For each
category, teachers differentiate the depth at which the syllabus is
covered (the state has defined the minimum syllabus that is adequate
for weaker students), the level of difficulty in the exercises that are
applied, and even the size of the class (with weaker students put
into smaller classes so that teachers can provide them with more
attention). One school in Sabah even streamed students by subject
so that students would always be taught at a level that is most
appropriate to their needs.

4. Use data aggressively: In Johor and Terengganu, the states

What are the practices of rapidly improving or good schools that make examination data tracking system is used extensively at the school
a difference?
level to inform changes in teaching practice. Within a few days of
each assessment, teachers are able to determine groups of students
1. Safeguard and extend teaching and learning time: Good schools who are at the threshold between grades, particularly those on the
limit activities that eat into teaching time, for example, by not calling
verge of a pass grade, or others who are near-misses for achieving
teachers out of class for meetings, requiring all teachers to find a
A grades, for instance. The analysis is further supported through
replacement in the event they need to leave the school for meetings
an item analysis, where exam responses are examined in detail to
or training sessions, and in some cases, extending the amount of
determine the particular type, scope and difficulty of questions that
time available for teaching and learning such as through after-school
are giving students problems. Lessons are then devised to help
remedial classes for weaker students. One school in Sabah, SK
students practice in the weaker areas.
Babagon Toki has even set up learning booths that are manned by
teachers during the daily recess break. Students who visit these
5. Intensify engagement with parents, communities and students:
booths and complete fun-filled learning activities receive stars, with a Good schools often enlist parents, students and even communities
prize at the end of each month being awarded to the student with the as partners in the learning process. Critically, this engagement is
most stars.
focused on what each party can do to improve learning outcomes. For
example, some schools provide explicit guidance to parents on what
2. Intensify support for teachers: Good and rapidly improving
they can do to help their child: check their homework daily and ensure
schools provide extra support for new teachers, for example by
they spend at least an hour each day on revision. Others also engage
having them team-teach classes with experienced teachers, creating
parents and students in joint discussions on their goals for the year,
a timetabled slot each week for teachers to spend in lesson-planning
and then get them to sign an aku janji pledge as a commitment to
workshops, and assigning mentors from the pool of experienced
working towards that goal.
teachers to provide on-going coaching and feedback. Good schools
also tend to have increased the teacher lesson observations
requirement beyond the minimum prescription of twice a year.

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performance tracked against these KPIs on a yearly basis.

Within states, PPDs will be ranked based on these KPIs to help
JPNs identify which districts require more support and what factors
might be driving their underperformance. Similarly, within districts,
PPDs will be able to use the NKRA performance bands and school
performance against these common KPIs to target resources where
they are most needed. At the end of each year, the top five most
improved PPDs nationwide will be recognised for their efforts.
This new set of KPIs will be piloted in Sabah and Kedah from January
2013 and rolled out nationwide by the end of 2013. The Ministry
will continuously monitor their usefulness to informing the school
improvement process, and make adjustments as required. The
Ministry will also review the current calculation methodology for the
NKRA performance bands to determine if further refinements are
required.

Providing support where it is most needed

PPDs will build off centrally-administered policy to develop
interventions targeted to the specific contexts of schools. JPNs will
provide the necessary resources and support for the execution of these
initiatives. An example of an issue that benefits from the additional
flexibility is student attendance. Student attendance tends to have a
broad range of root causes that are often context-specific. For example,
poor access, parental attitudes, or an unattractive school environment
may be reducing school attendance. The strategy employed has to
vary with the root cause in order to be effectivea transport solution
where access is poor, home visits by teachers to parents who do not
understand the importance of schooling, and maintaining a beautiful
school compound to increase physical attractiveness of schools. In
these situations, the PPDs are best positioned to determine the best
course of action, and should have the freedom and resources to do so.

Monitoring, problem solving, and taking action

The Ministry, JPNs, PPDs, principals, and teachers will conduct
regular performance dialogues to ensure that schools, districts, and
states are on track to achieve their targets. The performance dialogues
are characterised by the use of granular performance data to identify

both strengths and weaknesses, followed by immediate revisions to the

implementation plan to ensure issues are solved. These performance
dialogues are expected to be held at least twice a year (Exhibit 4-12 ).
EXHIBIT 4-12
Performance dialogue cycle

Based on good practice example: Johor

Track performance to
granular level, e.g.,
Headcount system
tracks performance of
each student by
subject for each
examination

Performance
tracking

Providing focused
support where best
served, e.g., more
frequent monitoring in
specific subjects
identified as problem
areas

Study of data to find

root cause of
underperformance, e.g.,
to level of school,
subject, teacher and
student

Gap analysis

Virtuous
performance
cycle

Action plan
and program
development

Clear and targeted

plan of action to close
achievement gaps,
e.g., tailored and
administered directly to
target groups

Execution
Focused
resource
deployment

Execution prioritises meaningful

programmes that directly relate to student
outcomes and/or identified problem areas

Wave 2 (2016 - 2020): Increasing operational

flexibility for JPNs, PPDs and schools
Having strengthened state and district management capabilities
and significantly reduced Bands 6 and 7 schools, the Ministry will
look into ways to give state, district, and school leadership greater
independence. At the state and district level, the Ministry will look into
providing these offices with greater operational flexibility over budget
allocation and personnel deployment. Further, in line with the roll-out
of KSSR and KSSM, the Ministry will change existing regulations to
give schools greater flexibility over curriculum timetabling, as long as
they are able to deliver the learning and content standards expected.

Wave 3 (2021 - 2025): Scaling up decision

rights
Based on learnings from Waves 1 and 2, the Ministry will continue
to review the types of decision rights accorded to JPNs, PPDs and
schools. The expectation is that at this stage, most if not all schools
would be ready for greater school-based management and autonomy.
Additionally, the Ministry will start exploring the introduction of new
infrastructure that will facilitate more autonomous learning both at
the school and student level. This could include introducing videoconferencing facilities to facilitate twinning programmes with schools
in other countries, tablet computers for students to reduce reliance on
traditional textbooks, and faster internet connectivity (see Chapter 6
on Ministry transformation for further information).

Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

Johors Best Practices - Identifying the Right Things and Doing Them Well
Johor is one of the better performing states in Malaysia at the primary
level. In 2010, it ranked second in the country, behind WP Putrajaya,
on the UPSR examination. While it dropped in ranking in 2011, the
difference between the states that jumped ahead of it was a marginal
0.3 to 2.0 percentage points. Nonetheless, Johor continues to have
one of the lowest variances in student performance in UPSR across
its PPD. What is impressive is that Johor progressed from Bottom 5 to
one of the top states in the country in the span of just five years.
Johors success can first and foremost be credited to the strength of
its leaders at the State and District level, particularly three successive
State Education Heads driving its transformation programme.
1. Clarity of shared vision. At the start of Johors reform journey, the
JPN leadership rallied districts together around the vision of turning
Johor into one of the top 5 states in terms of student outcomes. The
rallying cry of Johor Top 5 was both simple to understand, and
compelling in its level of ambition (as Johor was starting from the
bottom 5 in the national examination rankings). Five years later, this
shared vision remains on the lips of all officers, principals, teachers
and even parents. Without prompting, they would offer this refrain as a
concise articulation of what the state was constantly striving for.
2. Prioritisation of programmes to focus on academic outcomes.
During the initial roll-out of the Johor Top 5 strategy, there was
pressure from stakeholdersboth within and outside the State
Education Departmentto broaden its focus. The JPN leadership
however, held firm on the grounds that schools could not afford to
spread themselves too thinly, and that improving academic outcomes
would have a positive knock on effect on the other issues facing the
system, such as discipline. This commitment to delivering on a small
handful of priorities remains a hallmark of the Johor story.
3. Strong performance culture anchored on data. Johor started
using its online-based performance reporting system (Headcount)
in 2006 which tracks data to the student level. The system collects
student examination results (down to each subject question) from
every state and national assessment. At the school level the principal
will have a performance discussion with the schools teachers
to understand why the students may have failed or succeeded
in meeting their targets. Critically, the focus is on identifying the
appropriate remedial action to support students (for example, extra
classes after school). A similar performance dialogue is then held
between the district head and school principals, and the JPN head
and district heads. Rankings are communicated in a timely manner to
all districts and schools.

4. Phased professional development targeted at districts and

school leaders. In parallel with the roll-out of the Headcount system,
the JPN also rolled out a professional development programme
targeted at principals, deputy principals and district officers. The
programme started with the fundamentals of instructional leadership
so that the principals and districts would be equipped to develop
solutions to the challenges they were identifying with the Headcount
data. The state continued to focus all professional development on
the topic of instructional leadership for two to three years until all
school leaders and officers had a strong grasp on the topic, before
rolling out a new programme on change leadership.
5. Prescription to ensure a minimum standard of good practices.
The State prescribes a number of different programmes to create a
certain degree of uniformity in good practice. This includes: 1) Plan J,
which sets out the number and difficulty level of homework questions
for each lesson, differentiated by the students abilities, and 2) a
Minimum adequate syllabus that teachers can use for academically
weaker students.
6. Differentiated interventions based on performance. The Johor
Top 5 programme, categorise students based on streaming and
tailored drives based on students capabilities. These common
practices are implemented not only at a school level, but also at
the system level, where school clusters of different performance
bands receive different types of support from the district and state.
For example, Band 4 and 5 schools are coached on improving
teaching and learning practices, while Band 3 schools are coached
on improving school management. Within schools, each school is
required to create at least three differentiated tiers of student ability
good, average and poor. This manifests as groupings such as Bintang,
Sinar and Harapan. Each group applies a differentiated programme,
be it in the approach taken to teaching and learning in the classroom,
or the attention students get from their teachers, or in the intensity
and pace of the drills given to the students. PPDs adopt schools and
give more focus to underperforming schools.
Johors officials are quick to point out that the system is not doing
anything particularly new or difficult. What differentiates it from the
other states is the rigour and discipline with which every action is
followed through. It has ingrained in its system a performance culture
that is centred around data and clear evidence, a strong grasp of
the notion of differentiated interventions based on ability, and an
atmosphere of collaboration in which the stronger districts, schools
and teachers help support the weaker ones.

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Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013 - 2025

Chapter 4 Student Learning

The Ministry is at the starting point

of its journey to develop an education
system capable of producing Malaysians
who will be competitive in a globalised,
21st century world. This requires a
reconsideration of what student learning
means, and a re-articulation of the kinds
of skills that the Malaysian education
system wants to inculcate in its students.
In order to truly transform student
learning, change needs to happen at all
levelsthe Ministry, states, districts,
schools, principals, and teachers.
In the initial years of its journey, the
Ministry will focus on strengthening
existing foundations as well as delivering
early results. The Malaysian education
system will also evolve from a one-sizefitsall approach to implement contextspecific solutions in order to thrive.
As the system improves, the Ministry
will roll out more structural reforms to
curricular and assessment and award
greater operational flexibility to states,
districts, and schools.

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