SM St. URSULA

SM TEKNIK TAWAU

SMK BALUNG

SMK JAMBATAN PUTIH

SMK KINABUTAN

SMK TAWAU

SMK MEROTAI BESAR

SMK JALAN APAS

SMK KABOTA

SMK UMAS-UMAS

SMK WALLACE BAY

MOE  is responsible for regulating the operations of all public and private-funded schools and educational institutions in Malaysia.

Under Malaysian education system, a child's education begins at pre-school at the age of four and admittance to the first year of primary education is compulsory when the child reaches the age of six as at the first (1st) day of January of the current school year. Most schools at this level in Malaysia are government or government-aided schools. However, private schools are growing to meet the demand of more affluent parents in the city.

The school term starts in January and ends in November. All students from both public and private schools under the national education system study the same national curriculum and sit for common public examinations at the end of the primary, lower secondary, upper secondary and sixth form levels. The first three levels of examination are conducted by the examination body, namely the Examination Syndicate of MOE whereas the final level i.e. the sixth form examination is conducted by another examination body, namely the Malaysian Examination Council.

Within the education structure in Malaysia, there are also foreign international schools and expatriate schools that use foreign curriculum and languages to teach students. These foreign schools are not governed by the Education Act 1996 and do not need to conduct the Malaysian National Curriculum.

The Education Act 1996 is the education legislation that provides for pre-school education, primary school education, secondary school education, post-secondary education, teacher education, special education, religious teaching, private education, and technical education.

The Act stipulates the use of the national language Bahasa Malaysia as a medium of instruction in all educational institutions in the national education system except national-type schools or any other educational institutions exempted by the Ministry. The Act also requires all schools to use a national curriculum and prepare pupils for common public examinations.

Public-funded and private-funded educational institutions co-exist in the education system. Primary and secondary school education in the public sector is free but not in the private sector. It is estimated that 95% of the primary and secondary school education in Malaysia is provided by the Government (public schools) while the private sector plays a more important role in the pre-school level and the tertiary level.

The private sector plays a vital part in pre-tertiary education particularly at pre-school levels and actively offers pre-school, primary and secondary education in urban areas. The private sector or self-funded providers cater to parents who can afford education for their children at a fee.

There are four categories of educational institutions providing pre- tertiary education in Malaysia:

(A) Schooling provided by the Public Sector (Government)

The pre-tertiary education provided by the government for schooling children is categorized into four levels. They are:

Upon completion of 6 years primary school education, students will automatically be promoted to secondary schools for another five years i.e. three years lower secondary plus two years of upper secondary education. The education in public secondary schools is free but not mandatory.

The medium of instruction in secondary schools is Bahasa Malaysia while English is taught as a second language in all schools. These two subjects are core subjects and compulsory for all. Chinese, Tamil and Arabic (communication) are offered as additional subjects. Foreign languages such as French and other indigenous languages are also being introduced. English is being used as the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics subjects.

Providers of Secondary School Education

The main provider of secondary education is the 3 types of National Secondary Schools in Malaysia:

Secondary education is divided into lower and upper secondary levels, and a special year of transition programme known as 'Remove Class' for students from the National-Type Chinese and Tamil primary schools who do not fare well in their language subjects in the UPSR examination.

The different levels are:

> Remove Class

Remove Class is a transition year for students from the Chinese and Tamil medium schools to acquire sufficient proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia which is the medium of instruction in secondary school [From 1 to Form 5]. However, students who perform well in the Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah, UPSR (Primary School Achievement Test) are allowed to proceed to Form 1.

> Lower Secondary (Form 1 - Form 3, Age 13 to 15)

The lower secondary level provided by national academic secondary schools covers a duration of three years i.e. Form 1 to Form 3. Education at this level is general in nature and schools conducting classes at this level are academic-based schools. Students from the national primary schools proceed directly to Form 1.

At the end of the third year at the lower secondary level, students will be required to sit for a public examination called the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) or the Lower Secondary Assessment (LSA). However, PMR is not a terminal examination. It is more of a diagnostic evaluation instead. Therefore, all students will be automatically promoted to the upper secondary level for another two years to complete 11 years of free education.

Upper Secondary (Form 4 - Form 5, Age 16 to 17)

Upon completion of the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) examination in Form 3, students proceed to another two years of education at upper secondary schools. Based on their preference, PMR examination results and aptitude, students can opt to enter any type of the schools below. After two years of upper secondary education, students sit for the public common examination Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, SPM (also known as the Malaysian Certificate of Education which is equivalent to the GSCE '0' level).

Students in upper secondary academic schools will pursue a broad based academic education. Core subjects, compulsory subjects and elective subjects which are mainly science, applied arts, and humanities subjects are offered. Students are allowed to choose either the science or arts stream depending on their capabilities and interests in the open certification system.

Most secondary Schools in Malaysia are academic Schools

These school offers 3 streams :

1) technical education

2) vocational education

3) skills training.

Students enrolled in the technical stream study the same core subjects as the upper secondary school curriculum and can choose science and technical subjects as electives. Only students with a strong background in mathematics and science are selected to enroll in the technical stream. Students from this stream are encouraged to continue their studies in science and technology-related courses at certificate, diploma or degree levels.

The vocational education stream provides courses in pre-employment skills as well as general education. Emphasis is given to general and vocational subjects in order to provide students with a good foundation for admission into polytechnics, community colleges and other institutions of higher education.

National Religious Secondary Schools (NRSS)

These schools are known as Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama and offer Islamic Religious Education and Arabic Studies. Subjects related to science and technologies are also included. These schools maintain their uniqueness in offering specialized elective courses in Islamic Studies which are not available in other schools.

The compulsory subjects are Tasawwur Islam, AI-Quran study and As-Sunnah and Syariah Islamiah study. NRSS also offers elective subjects such as Pure Science, Arts, Technology, Information Technology and Languages.

Post-Secondary or Pre-University Education in Public Schools

(Sixth Form / Matriculation, Age 18-19)

After 11 years of free education (six years of primary and five years of secondary education), further study opportunities in Malaysia for school leavers are abundant, however, no longer automatic but is subject to the individual's academic performance and financial afford ability.

SPM school leavers can opt to continue in government schools for a pre-university qualification (like the Sixth Form and Matriculation programmes) for free, or further their education at tertiary or higher institutions at a fee.

The Ministry Of Education offers two types of free post-secondary programmes or pre-university courses for SPM school leavers:

The Sixth Form (Lower and Upper Form for 1.5 years) preparing students for the common public examination, namely Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM), or

Matriculation Class (for 1 year) conducted by Matriculation Colleges under the Ministry of Education

Education at post-secondary level prepares SPM school leavers for entry into Bachelor's degree programmes at local public universities, private colleges, private universities, foreign university branch campuses in Malaysia, foreign universities overseas and other institutions of higher education.