Can international schools fix national education?

The Ministry of Education has expressed their commitment to aid the establishment of more international schools nationwide.

Earlier in August, controversy stirred around claims that Chinese schools in Malaysia might become mainstream schools within 10 years, suggesting that they could replace national schools. The government has since then rejected the claims and continued to express support for national schools.

Many Malaysians continue to scrutinise the quality of education in national schools and the number of parents who intend to withdraw their children from national schools and enrol them in private and/or international schools is increasing, making Malaysia an attractive market to providers of international and private education.

Recently, the Ministry of Education has encouraged more investment in international schools. Deputy Minister for Education, P. Kamalanathan says that there are 116 international schools in Malaysia and the Ministry has approved few more. Additionally the ministry welcomes investors who would like to set up an international school outside of the Klang Valley.

Why Greater Kuala Lumpur?

According to The International School Consultancy (ISC), a private organisation researching and reporting on the world of international English-speaking schools, 23% of international schools in Malaysia are within the greater Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley areas because these areas are attractive to expatriates and their families.

However, the group has already identified demand for international schools beyond the rapidly developing metropolis and opportunities for international schools seem to be available across Malaysia.

Under the Economic Transformation Programme, the government desires to have more international schools in Malaysia and the government is willing to provide consultancy and advice to assist the initiative and diversify the provision of education in Malaysia. In fact, one of the very attractive incentives is a huge tax exemption for international education providers.

There seems to be a number of interesting reasons behind the desire to have more international schools:

• Desire to attract more foreign talents (expatriates)
• Increase the availability of quality education for Malaysians

While it is clear that international schools are targeting families of a certain income group, national schools are still the main source of education to millions of Malaysians in urban and rural areas who represent the overwhelming majority of the population in Malaysia. The median income of a Malaysian household, according to 2015 figures released by the Department of Statistics, is RM4,585, an 11.7% growth from 2012. However, even at that rate of growth, it is still considered unsatisfactory due to rising cost of living. This justifies why national schools are still and will continue to be a main source of education in Malaysia, in spite of the intense criticism and trust issues.

The question remains: How will having more international schools help improve the state of national schools and provide quality education for Malaysian children coming from middle class and poor communities?