Education in Malaysia

Today the Malaysian education system is a reasonably successful one, responding to the demands for equity among the different ethnic groups as well as the needs of a rapidly developing economy. The literacy rate is 84 percent, the figures for males and females being 89 percent and 79 percent, respectively. Primary school enrollment is above 90 percent for both males and females, while enrollment at the secondary level is 66 percent for females and 58 percent for males, presumably reflecting the higher labor force demands on males. At the tertiary level enrollment is 11 percent overall.

Religious education is found under the rubric "moral education," which allows for religious instruction without offending any specific ethnic group. Bahasa Malaysia and English are compulsory subjects, with the latter recently receiving increasing attention. The other subjects taken at the secondary level depend on what options are chosen in addition to the usual required academic subjects commercial studies, home science, agricultural science, and industrial arts.