The Educational Process

Pre-primary education

The goals of pre-school education are:

• to nurture healthy character development, thinking ability, interests and skills of children
• to provide general education for a child’s mental, physical, emotional and social development;
• to provide basic education of the 3M (in Malay), or the 3R, namely reading, writing and arithmetic.

The suggested age for a child to enter the education system is 5 years. The age in private pre-schools may even be as low as 3 years, as the period of pre-school attendance is further extended to three years.

The curriculum at this level covers basic language classes as well as arithmetic, civics, basic Islamic religious studies, physical education, and talent development, all of which are taught using surrounding elements. Lessons are held on an informal basis. There is no specific allocation time period per lesson since teaching is integrated and delivered through children’s activities.Children’s abilities are continuously assessed and they are generally promoted to lower primary automatically. The average children-teacher ratio is 18.5:1.

Primary education

The primary level is divided into lower primary (Grades I-III) and upper primary (Grades IV-VI). Pre-school education is considered as a stage of primary education. At the lower primary level, the medium of instruction is the Malay language. Pupils at the upper primary level follow the bilingual system of education. Subjects such as Islamic religious knowledge, arts and crafts, civics, physical education and history are taught in Malay, whereas subjects such as mathematics, geography and science are taught in English.

Primary education aims to give children a firm foundation in the basic skills of writing, reading and arithmetic. It also strives to provide opportunities for their personal growth and character development. As preparation for formal education is steadily built, the teaching of jawi writing (Arabic script) is emphasized beginning at Grade III.

At the end of upper primary education, pupils sit the Primary Certificate of Education (PCE) examination. The subjects examined are Malay, English, mathematics, general paper and science. Those who fail will sit the PCE examination again in January the following year.

Primary Education: Weekly Lesson Timetable

According to a research conducted by the Special Education Unit on Grades I-VI, a total of 1,597 pupils failed and repeated their respective grade in 1998. That number represents about 5% (4.93%) of the total number of primary pupils. This is seen to be high, considering the Ministry of Education’s attempt to facilitate the progress of pupils throughout the grades.

Secondary education

Secondary education is divided into two cycles: lower secondary (Forms I-III) and upper secondary (Forms IV and V).

The duration of lower secondary education is three years. At the end of lower secondary education pupils sit the Junior Secondary Assessment (PMB) as a non-terminal public examination. It assists the channelling of students to either vocational schools or to the academic stream and it serves as a national assessment for students’ achievement after three years of secondary education.

Lower Secondary Education: Weekly Lesson Timetable

The upper secondary cycle is divided into two streams of study and covers a duration of two or three years. Students who pass the Junior Secondary Assessment examination (PMB) with grade “O” (Ordinary) are streamed to a two-year upper secondary programme leading to the Brunei-Cambridge GCE O-level examinations, and those who pass with grade “N” (Normal) follow a two-year normal course and sit the Brunei-Cambridge GCE N-level examinations since 1997. Only those who obtain enough credits proceed to the GCE O-level programme.

Upper Secondary Education: Weekly Lesson Timetable

Students who have completed the PMB, the N-level or the GCE O-level examinations can pursue technical, vocational or career courses in a vocational school, technical or engineering college offering crafts or technician programmes (two and a half years of study) .

National Trade Certificate III (NTC-3) courses are one and a half years’ in duration, which include a period of industrial attachment. The minimum entry qualification into a NTC-3 course is completion of Form III. However, priority is given to applicants who have passed the PMB. On successful completion, students will be awarded the National Certificate III. National Trade Certificate II (NTC-2) courses last one year. The minimum entry qualification into a NTC-2 course is successful completion of a related NTC-3 course (or equivalent) and at least one year of relevant working experience. On successful completion, students are awarded the National Trade Certificate II. The assessment of students’ performance at craft level is based on their marks in semester assignments which make up 70% of the total marks, with the remaining 30% coming from a project. A full-time craft course is two and a half years in duration (including six months of industrial attachment). The entry requirement is a completion of Form III or a pass in the PMB examination.

The technician courses consist of two levels: a pre-national diploma or certificate course, and a national diploma or certificate course. On successful completion of the courses, students are awarded a diploma by the Brunei Darussalam Technical and Vocational Education Council. Technician-level courses of 2½ years’ duration are offered on a “sandwich” basis and lead to the Brunei National Diploma (BND). The sandwich method of course delivery consists of alternate periods of instruction at the College and training with an employer on-the-job.

• to be involved in the preparation of effective curricular and co-curricular matters;
• to improve students’ academic achievement;
• to enable teaching and learning to be more systematic and effective;
• to develop the professionalism of teachers through staff development programmes;
• to provide an environment conducive to learning.