The Educational Process

Pre-Primary Education | Basic Education | Secondary Education

Primary education

Primary education aims at ensuring the overall, balanced and integrated development of a child’s potential–which includes intellectual, spiritual, emotional and physical aspects–in order to produce balanced and harmonious individuals with high moral standards. Primary education must enable pupils to:

• master the Malay language as the national language as well as the official language of the country;
• master the Malay language as the national language as well as the official language of the country;
• master the basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) in the medium of instruction;
• master arithmetical skills and use them in their daily lives;
• master study skills;
• speak, read, write and understand the English language as a second language;
• seek and acquire knowledge;
• develop leadership qualities and self-confidence;
• be sensitive towards man and his environment;
• master scientific and technical skills;
• be interested in, appreciate and participate in charitable works, and cultural and recreational activities in line with the national culture;
• look after one’s health and physical fitness;
• acquire the skills of reading, reciting and understanding the meaning of chosen verses from the Quran (Muslim pupils);
• strengthen the basic of Aqidah (belief in God), perform religiously the rites of devotion to Allah, and constantly practice noble values;
• be patriotic;
• develop talents and creativity; and
• be well mannered and practice noble values.

There are two type of primary schools: national and national-type. The medium of instruction in national schools is the Malay language. National-type schools use Chinese and Tamil as the medium of instruction; however, Malay language is a compulsory subject. English is taught as a second language in all schools. There is automatic promotion from Grade I to VI, and also continuous school-based assessment. The feedback from this assessment is used to monitor pupils’ progress in the mastery of the basic skills, and plan strategies for school improvement. The duration of primary education is six years, but it may be completed in five to seven years. At the end of six years of primary education, pupils sit a common public examination, the Primary School Achievement Test (PSAT). The drop-out rate is negligible.

Universal primary education has been achieved (enrolment rate of 99.8% in 2000). The teacher-pupil ratio was 1:20.4 in 1990, and 1:18.9 in recent years.

The primary school curriculum, which gives emphasis to basic skills in reading, writing and arithmetic, was implemented in stages starting in 1983. By 1988, the curriculum was fully implemented in all classes at the primary school level. Taking the National Development Plan as a term of reference, the curriculum was formulated in line with the national education objectives and the national education philosophy.

The Integrated Curriculum for Primary School (ICPS) emphasizes the mastery, reinforcement and application of the 3Rs, the acquistion of complex skills and knowledge, pre-vocational skills, and the development of personality, attitudes and values. The ICPS consists of three areas: communication, man and his environment, and self-development. These areas are divided into six components: basic skills; humanities; art and recreation; spirituality, values and attitudes; living skills; and communication.

The first area, communication, comprises the basic skills components with emphasis on language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and basic mathematical operations. The subjects identified in this area are the languages (Bahasa Melayu, English, Chinese and Tamil) and mathematics.

The second area, man and his environment, consists of two components: humanities and spirituality, values and attitudes. The humanities component comprises science and local studies introduced in Grade IV, while the spirituality, values and attitudes component consists of two subjects: Islamic religious education (for Muslims) and moral education (for non-Muslims).

The third area is individual self-development. It comprises: arts and recreation, with emphasis on the physical and aesthetic development of the individual; living skills and co-curricular activities. The subjects identified for arts and recreation are music, art, and health and physical education. The elements of health are incorporated in physical education. Living skills is offered as subject discipline. It comprises the elements of manual skills, commerce and entrepreneurship, and family living. This subject is introduced starting in Grade IV. Co-curricular activities, as an extension of the formal teaching and learning process, are categorized into uniformed bodies, societies, clubs and sports.

The ICPS is divided into two phases of three years each. Phase I comprises Grades I-III, with emphasis on the basics of reading, writing and mathematics. Phase II (Grades IV-VI) focuses on the reinforcement and utilization of the basic skills and the acquisition of knowledge.

The distribution of time in each Phase according to the subjects taught in national and national-type (Chinese and Tamil) schools is shown in the tables below:

Primary education (national schools):
Weekly lesson timetable according to the Integrated Curriculum of Primary School revised in 1999

Primary education (national-type schools, Chinese and Tamil):
Weekly lesson timetable according to the Integrated Curriculum of Primary School revised in 1999

There are two types of formal evaluation. The first one is known as Primary School Assessment Test or Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR). The evaluation is carried out mainly on cognitive aspects focusing on basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics. The subjects that are assessed in UPSR are Bahasa Melayu, English, science and mathematics. However, in addition to these subjects Malay pupils have to undergo an assessment known as Penilaian Asas Fardu Ain (PAPA) for religious education, which is carried out during the teaching process. Pupils’ achievement in PAPA is recorded in the UPSR slips.

The second type of assessment is known as Penilaian Tahap Satu (PTS) or Level One Assessment (LOA). PTS was first introduced in 1996. This assessment is an aptitude test that will enable the Ministry of Education to select those Grade III pupils who master the basic knowledge and skills and with high learning potential to proceed directly to Grade V. This is in line with the new education policy which stipulates that primary education can be completed in five/seven years. Pupils are tested on their abilities and potential in verbal, quantitative and thinking skills.

In addition to these two assessments, there is the School-based Assessment or Penilaian Kemajuan Berasaskan Sekolah (PKBS). It is implemented throughout the year during the teaching and learning process in order to evaluate pupils’ progress in the cognitive, effective and psychomotor aspects. The assessment is done through observation, verbal and writing. The information from PKBS is used by teachers to plan further reinforcement concerning pupils’ achievement and the teaching process.