Education in Malaysia (Part 1)

Our kids’ education is going to be our single largest expense investment.

To put it bluntly, we no longer believe in the national education system. Clearly we are not alone as education is booming business in Malaysia. There are a myriad of choices dictated by how much you can afford. At the higher end of the scale it would cost RM1-1.5 million to take a child through to a basic undergraduate degree. At these levels your child would completely avoid the Malaysian education system.

There are of course many combinations. Some parents opt for a foundation at Chinese Independent schools to master Mandarin. There is also the option of private local curriculum schools that are one up on government schools without the astronomical costs. There are also many twinning programs that allow you to save costs by completing much of undergraduate degree in Malaysia.

We are considering a few different combinations, with cost being a big part of the decision process.

		Total	High School	Pre-U & U
		RM	RM	RM
Pure International(1)	International all the way	1.1m	450k	650k
Chinese Foundation(2)	Chinese primary then International	850k	200k	650k
Hybrid(3)	Private primary then International	930k	280k	650k

Assumptions:

(1)  Based on International School @ Park City

(2)  Based on primary at Kuen Cheng High School

(3)  Based on primary at Sri KDU

The underlying assumption is that A-Levels is at an international School in Malaysia followed by a basic undergraduate degree at an Australian University. At RM500k University accounts for most of the cost.  We recognize that we could save a lot if we took advantage of twinning programs but if possible we would like our kids to enjoy the full University experience. Hopefully our kids would be able to obtain some form of financial aid.

High School

My wife speaks no Chinese and my Cantonese is basic, Mandarin? only enough to impress my wife (remember she speaks no Chinese).  It would be a huge advantage if my kids were fluent in Mandarin since the Chinese and Muslims are going to rule the world (or at least the votes). Since they aren’t likely to be Muslim Chinese (my wife is Catholic) being a Chinese from a Muslim country would be the next best thing.

The downside, Chinese schools in Malaysia seem to operate in a different era. There are a multitude of horror stories, the kid who gets whacked for sweating too much (he is somewhat over weight), having to spend the day with your poor results pinned to your back, etc. Even the teacher admitted that the first weeks are always tough as the teachers establish respect and position. When it comes down to it I can’t imagine putting my three girls through it. At home we encourage independence, decision-making, discussion, etc. The philosophy of Chinese schools clashes with the way we want to bring up our kids.

Private Local Curriculum School. This would have been the compromise option. Good facilities and better teachers but without the crazy costs. Schools like Sri KDU are in the region of RM1,300 per month. I actually explored Sri Cempaka and Sri KDU. You would think they would flourish but the opposite is actually happening. Private local syllabus schools are shifting their business model. Sri Garden and Sri Cempaka Damansara Heights have moved to an international curriculum. Sri KDU has introduced an international syllabus option for secondary and I’m guessing would probably do so for primary in time (if not already).

There isn’t an official reason but I’m guessing, as with all businesses, it’s due to demand. Many parents aren’t happy with the move to teach Math and Science back to Malay. I expressed the same concern, their solution? In addition to teaching their students Maths and Science in Malay they would also teach their students Maths and Science in English he said proudly - one for passing exams and one for the real world. This is nuts and I’m not going to be a part of it!

(To be continued, International Schools!)