Education in Malaysia is monitored by the federal government Ministry of Education.
Most Malaysian children start schooling at the age of 3-6, in kindergarten. Most kindergartens run privately, as well as some government-operated kindergartens.
Children begin primary schooling at age of 7 for six years. There are two major types of government-operated or government-assisted primary schools: national schools (Sekolah Kebangsaan) which uses Malay as medium of instruction, and national-type schools (Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan) which uses either Chinese or Tamil as medium of instruction. Before progressing to secondary level, students in Year 6 sit for the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR), or Primary School Assessment Examination. An exam called Penilaian Tahap Satu (PTS), First Level Assessment, was used to measure the ability of bright students, and to allow them to move from Year 3 to 5, skipping Year 4. The exam was removed in 2001.
Secondary education in government secondary schools lasts five years. Government secondary schools uses Malay as medium of instruction apart from language, Mathematics and Science subjects. At the end of the third year or Form Three, students sit for the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR), Lower Secondary Assessment. The combination of subjects available to Form 4 students vary from one school to another. In the last year (Form 5), students sit for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Malaysian Certificate of Education, which is equivalent to the British Ordinary or 'O' Levels, now referred to as GCSE.
Mathematics and Science subjects in government primary and secondary schools such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry are taught in English. The reasoning was that students would no longer be hindered by the language barrier during their tertiary education in fields such as medicine and engineering.
There are also 60 Chinese Independent High Schools in Malaysia, where most subjects are instructed in Chinese. Chinese Independent High Schools are monitored and standardized by the United Chinese School Committees' Association of Malaysia (UCSCAM, more commonly referred to by its Chinese name, Dong Zong 董总), however, unlike government schools, every independent school is free to make its own decisions. Studying in independent schools takes 6 years to complete, divided into Junior Middle (3 years) and Senior Middle (3 years). Students sit for a standardised test by Dong Zong known as the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) in Junior Middle 3 (equivalent to PMR) and Senior Middle 3 (equivalent to AO level). A number of independent schools conduct classes in Malay and English in addition to Chinese, enabling the students to sit for the PMR and SPM as well.
Students wishing to enter public universities must complete 1 1/2 more years of secondary schooling in Form Six and sit for the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM), Malaysia Higher Certificate of Education; equivalent to the British Advanced or 'A' levels.
As for tertiary education, there are public universities such as University of Malaya and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. In addition, 5 international reputable universities have set up their branch campuses in Malaysia since 1998. A branch campus can be seen as an ‘off-shore’ of the foreign university, which offers the same courses and awards as at the ‘headquarters’. Both local and international students can acquire these identical foreign qualifications at a much lower education cost in Malaysia. The foreign university branch campuses in Malaysia are: Monash University (Sunway Campus), Curtin University of Technology (Sarawak Campus), Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus and FTMS-De Monfort University Campus of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.
Students can also opt to go to private colleges after secondary studies. Most colleges have educational links with overseas universities especially in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Malaysian students abroad study mostly in the UK, United States, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Canada and New Zealand.
In addition to the National Curriculum, Malaysia has many international schools. International schools offer students the opportunity to study the curriculum of another country. These schools mainly cater to the growing expatriate population in the country. International schools include - Australian International School, Malaysia (Australian curriculum), The Alice Smith School (British curriculum), The Garden International School (British curriculum), The International School of Kuala Lumpur (International Baccalaureate and American curriculum), The Japanese School of Kuala Lumpur (Japanese curriculum),The International School of Penang (International Baccalaureate and British curruculum) Lycée Français de Kuala Lumpur (French curriculum) amongst others.