Educational Policy in Malaysia
Educational Policy in Malaysia INTRODUCTION Malaysia is one of the world's fastest growing economic regions, a rapidly growing nation in the heart of South East Asia. Within a span of two decades, it has succeeded in bringing about socioeconomic transformation of the society; from its architecture to its lifestyle, the Malaysian character speaks of a comfortable coexistence of its ethnic, cultural as well as religious diversity that continues to be a part of this country's charm and practical reality.
Malaysia's Vision 2020 steers the nation towards becoming a fully developed and industrialized country, a democratic society that is strong in religious and spiritual values, a society that is liberal and tolerant, scientific and progressive, innovative and forward looking. This goal is reflected in the mission of the Ministry of Education, that is: "To develop a world class quality education system which will realize the full potential of the individual and fulfill the aspiration of the Malaysian nation." Education has provided a solid platform for country's political as well as economic stability with a view to establishing Malaysia as a regional center for academic excellence and turning education into a top quality export commodity. The Malaysian education system has equipped its young people with a level of competence and skills which has put them on par with the top students in some of the world's best universities, and at 93%, Malaysia's literacy rate is one of the highest in the world.
The paper aims at critically examining the educational policy of the Ministry of Education Malaysia, with description of social, governmental and economic environments in which the policy was developed. Effectiveness of the policy will be evaluated and problems related to it will be further highlighted, with comparison to the one of the models from class lecture, i.e. the incremental model of public policy.
NATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION (NPE) The foundation for the
Malaysia's Vision 2020 steers the nation towards becoming a fully developed and industrialized country, a democratic society that is strong in religious and spiritual values, a society that is liberal and tolerant, scientific and progressive, innovative and forward looking. This goal is reflected in the mission of the Ministry of Education, that is: "To develop a world class quality education system which will realize the full potential of the individual and fulfill the aspiration of the Malaysian nation." Education has provided a solid platform for country's political as well as economic stability with a view to establishing Malaysia as a regional center for academic excellence and turning education into a top quality export commodity. The Malaysian education system has equipped its young people with a level of competence and skills which has put them on par with the top students in some of the world's best universities, and at 93%, Malaysia's literacy rate is one of the highest in the world.
The paper aims at critically examining the educational policy of the Ministry of Education Malaysia, with description of social, governmental and economic environments in which the policy was developed. Effectiveness of the policy will be evaluated and problems related to it will be further highlighted, with comparison to the one of the models from class lecture, i.e. the incremental model of public policy.
NATIONAL PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION (NPE) The foundation for the