Steps taken to improve learning outcomes in Malaysia

Despite the net enrolment of primary school children standing close to 100% in Malaysia, many of them, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, struggle with learning outcomes. On that note, the country has identified ways to combat this challenge.

As Malaysia looks ahead to become a high-income economy, there is a demand for advanced and specialised skills to be crucial in maintaining its economic competitiveness. 

Malaysia has achieved near universal primary education with remarkable equity in resources and student experiences, clinching a close to 100% enrolment rate at the primary level since 2013.  

However, despite these achievements, many children in Malaysia, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, struggle with learning outcomes.  

According to a report by The World Bank Group, the Malaysia Economic Monitor (MEM) for April 2024 revealed that a significant fraction of children in Malaysia lack school readiness skills and therefore find difficulty in reading, writing and mathematics throughout their schooling.  

Further, Malaysian students are found to lag behind their aspirational peers in reading, math and science as measured by international assessments, by the time they reach 15 years old.  

According to a press release by the World Bank Group, Malaysia’s long-term growth prospects are critically dependent on strengthening its workforce by improving learning outcomes for children.  

In this second part of the report, entitled Bending bamboo shoots: Strengthening foundational skills, MEM outlines the challenges Malaysia faces and identifies the bottlenecks that the education system encounters when improving learning outcomes.  

The report also identifies the steps that can be taken to improve foundational skills and learning outcomes in Malaysia, including ensuring that all children benefit from preschool education that is of high-quality and arrive in primary school ready to learn. 

Below are the challenges faced by Malaysia today:  

Early childhood education isn’t equipping children adequately with school-readiness skills 

A considerable number of children in Malaysia lack the school-readiness skills which would prepare them for success upon entering primary school. 

While the country has expanded early childhood education, over a tenth of young children in Malaysia still do not have access to it.  

Moreover, approximately 24% of children entering primary school still lack school-readiness skills (SEA-PLM 2019).  

Unfortunately, students from the poorest quintile are far less likely to perform well on school readiness. Specifically, only 64% of students from the poorest quintile meet these standards, compared to students from the richest quintile (89%). 

While preschool enrolment has increased, several challenges hinder progress toward achieving universal access

These challenges include limited awareness about the benefits of preschool education, inadequate availability of preschools in areas of high need, and affordability concerns (World Bank 2023). 

Despite the advantages, preschool education remains non-mandatory for entrance into Primary/Standard 1 of the national education system. 

The scarcity of public preschools leaves low-income parents with few options, as private providers may be too costly. Moreover, the decrease in government fee assistance since 2022 exacerbates affordability issues for lower-income families. 

Measurement of quality-related indicators in preschool remains a challenge, which makes progress on outcomes difficult 

Quality challenges hinder efforts to improve access to preschools because preschool quality directly impacts school-readiness skills. The National Preschool Quality Standard implementation has flaws, lacking sufficient quality assurance mechanisms and clear connections to outcomes. 

Although operators and teachers follow the National Preschool Quality Standard requirements set by the Ministry of Education (MOE) its effectiveness as a tool for quality assurance and improvement remains limited. 

Teacher preparedness, effort and morale in primary schools remain uneven 

While a child’s family background remains the most important predictor of learning outcomes, the most critical factor once children get to school is the quality of their teachers. 

When compared to Vietnam, the differences in teaching quality revel that over a three-year period, an average second-grade student can end up in either the top-third or the bottom-third of the class. 

Although Malaysia's teacher policies are robust, their practical implementation may be weak with many teachers in Malaysia lack the necessary content knowledge and skills to excel 

In Malaysia, most children are taught by teachers who are well-qualified, with over 80% taught by teachers with qualifications at ISCED 6 (bachelor's or equivalent) or higher. 

There is limited data on teachers’ content knowledge in Malaysia, but what little exists, suggests there is room for improvement.  

For example, many English teachers lack proficiency in English language to effectively teach in classrooms. In 2013, only 28% of English teachers were deemed proficient, and increasing to 53% by 2020, indicating room for further improvement. 

Most children in Malaysia are taught by teachers who have received either pre-service training or in-service training in reading, but only about 40% are taught by teachers who received both. 

Alarmingly, however, nearly 12% of students are taught by teachers with no training in reading instruction. 

Compared to Vietnam, a much smaller percentage of children in Malaysia have teachers who practice effective teaching methods for reading.  

This includes practices such as regularly having them analyse the structure of texts, evaluate the mood and tone of texts, summarise what they have read or had them reflect on how texts related to their own world. However, in Vietnam, these practices are regularly used 

Compared to Vietnam, a much smaller percentage of children in Malaysia have teachers who practice effective teaching methods for reading.  

This includes practices such as regularly having them analyse the structure of texts, evaluate the mood and tone of texts, summarise what they have read or had them reflect on how texts related to their own world. However, in Vietnam, these practices are regularly used.

Despite the focused attention on testing teachers in English and helping them improve, change in proficiency levels has been slow. Despite the focused attention on testing teachers in English and helping them improve, change in proficiency levels has been slow. 

One reason is that training programs often fail to account for the unique characteristics of adult learning as discussed subsequently. To address this issue, the MOE now mandates that graduates from the Institute of Teacher Education (ITE) and public universities must achieve a minimum CEFR C1 proficiency level to qualify for school placement, aiming to enhance overall teacher proficiency. 

So how is Malaysia doing better? 

Malaysia has implemented several interventions to address the issue of learning poverty, especially in the mastery of basic skills such as literacy and numeracy. 

the Reading Aid Programme (Program Bantu Membaca) is a program designed to provide extra support and assistance to primary school learners through a one-to-one approach.  

The program involves all students in primary schools, from Year 1 to Year 6, where they are evaluated based on their reading skills in Bahasa Melayu.  

Teachers are encouraged to use the Basic Literacy Module for Bahasa Melayu (Modul Asas Literasi Bahasa Melayu) module as supportive material to strengthen basic literacy skills among students. 

The objectives of this module are to enable students to: 

(i) master basic literacy skills in Bahasa Melayu;  

(ii) reinforce Bahasa Melayu literacy skills for further learning.

According to the statistics, the initial data obtained in July 2022 showed that 148,284 primary school students have some difficulties in reading. Three months later, with the implementation of the intensive programme, 28% of learners were able to read fluently.  

The Special Remedial Programme (Program Pemulihan Khas) is specifically designed to provide early intervention to primary school students facing difficulties in literacy and numeracy.  

Students who have yet to master basic literacy and numeracy skills are placed in dedicated remedial classes during specific subjects such as Bahasa Melayu or mathematics.   

The programme is conducted by remedial specialist teachers in schools & focuses on addressing the individual learning needs of students. 

Within four months of the programme in 2023, 22% of students were able to acquire the required skills. 

Malaysia has innovative programs that provide teachers with continuous professional development opportunities. 

Since 2013, there have been opportunities for teachers to develop higher order thinking skills and pedagogy. The Standard Instrument for the Evaluation of the Cultivation of Higher-Level Thinking Skills in 2023 showed that 54% of teachers are at the excellent level. 

Guided training of teachers with data and evidence on what improves student learning 

A high-impact in-service teacher training programs from around the world indicates that effective programs have four key features:  

(i) a focus on content knowledge, 

(ii) opportunities to practice what is learned with colleagues,  

(iii) continued support through follow-up visits focused on training content, and 

(iv) career incentives through promotion or increased salary. 

Teachers can also be supported in being more effective with several different tools 

• structured lesson plan 
• differentiated instruction 
• educational technology (EdTech) 
• dual teacher model  

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READ MORE: Malaysia to pilot Progressive Wage Policy from June to August 2024

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