Administration and Mangement of the Education System

The Ministry of Education is organized into four distinct levels: federal, state, district and school. The education districts do not correspond to the administrative districts because they are based on educational rather than administrative needs.

At the federal level, the Ministry of Education translates the National Education Policy into educational plans, programmes and projects in accordance with national aspirations and objectives. It also sets guidelines for the implementation and management of the educational programmes.

The decision-making process at the national level is performed through a system of committees. The Educational Planning Committee (EPC) is the highest decision-making body in the Ministry of Education and is concerned with the formulation, co-ordination and implementation of general policy guidelines. There are also other committees with specific terms of reference.

The EPC is chaired by the Minister of Education and the secretariat to this Committee is the Educational Planning and Research Division (EPRD). As the main planning agency of the Ministry of Education, the EPRD is responsible for educational planning, research, evaluation, policy analysis and co-ordination in matters relating to educational policy and its implementation.

There is a State Education Department in each of the fourteen states. The State Education Department is headed by a Director who is responsible for the implementation of educational programmes, projects and activities in the state. The main administrative functions of the Departments are as follows: (a) to organize and co-ordinate the administration of schools in the state with respect to staff and personnel establishment, finance and physical development; (b) to supervise educational programmes; (c) to formulate and implement state educational development plans; (d) to provide regular feedback information to the Ministry, where necessary, on the implementation of the National Education Policy.

In all states except Perlis, Malacca and the Federal Territories, there are additional administrative units at the district level. The District Education Office is an extension of the State Education Department and forms the linkage between the school and the Department. It helps the Department in supervising the implementation of educational programmes, projects and activities in the schools of the district. The states of Sabah and Sarawak have additional administrative units, known as Residency Education Offices in Sabah and Division Education Offices in Sarawak.

Every primary school is headed by a headmaster while each secondary school is headed by a principal. The headmasters and the principals are responsible for providing professional as well administrative leadership in schools. There is a Board of Managers for every government-aided primary and secondary school and in some government-owned primary and secondary schools. In addition, there is a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) in every school. The School Boards and PTAs provide assistance in the management of schools and help to foster co-operation between the school and the community.

There are other agencies with parallel programmes that help to supplement the Ministry’s efforts in providing education and training to meet the national development and manpower needs. Teacher training for pre-school (kindergarten) teachers is also provided by the Ministry of National and Rural Development. Various ministries and government agencies also provide formal and non-formal training to both youth and adults to acquire specific skills and vocational trades: the Ministry of Labour (industrial training on a sponsorship basis), the Ministry of Youth and Sports (technical and business training programmes and on-the-job youth training), the Ministry of Agriculture (training and extension programmes), the National Electricity Board (electrical and mechanical engineering training), and the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), established to give motivation, guidance and vocational training opportunities to bumiputeras (indigenous people).