Malaysia

Curriculum planning, development

and reform
Zamrus Bin A. Rahman and Mokelas Bin Ahmad

Estimated population (1995)

20,100,000

Public expenditure on education as

percentage of Gross National Product
(1995)

5.2

Duration of compulsory education

(years)

11

INTRODUCTION
Legal foundation
The Education Act 1996 (Act 550, Laws of Malaysia) provides the fundamental basis for curriculum policies in Malaysia. It indicates the specific laws and provisions that
give direction to curriculum documents. These regulations are mandatory for all schools.

Primary or basic education

Pupils enrolled (1995)
Teachers (1995)
Pupil/teacher ratio

Education goals and objectives

Gross enrolment ratio, (1995)

Total
Male
Female

92
92
92

Net enrolment ratio (1995)

Total
Male
Female

91
91
92

Estimated percentage of repeaters

(1995)
Estimated percentage of drop-outs
(1995)
School-age population out of school
(1995)

The countrys educational goals are manifested in the Malaysian National Education Philosophy (NEP) which
states that:

3,100,000
140,342
19:1

Education in Malaysia is an on-going effort towards further developing the potential of individuals in a holistic
and integrated manner so as to produce individuals who
are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically
balanced and harmonious, based on a firm belief in and
devotion to God. Such an effort is designed to produce
Malaysian citizens who are knowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral standards, and who are responsible and capable of achieving a high level of
personal well-being, as well as being able to contribute to
the betterment of the family, the society and the nation at
large.

The education system

280,000

A uniform system of education in both primary and secondary schools has been established whereby a national
curriculum is used in all schools. Common central assessment and examinations at the end of the respective periods
of schooling are also being practised. The national language, Malay, is the official language of instruction.

Secondary education
Students enrolled (1995)

1,640,461

Gross enrolment ratio (1995)

Total
Male
Female

62
58
66

Third-level enrolment ratio (1995)

10.6

Estimated adult literacy rate (1995)

Total
Male
Female

83
89
78

Curriculum philosophy
The school curriculum is expected to contribute to the holistic development of the individual (mental, emotional,
physical, spiritual) by imparting general knowledge and
skills, fostering healthy attitudes and instilling accepted
moral values. The aim is to produce Malaysian citizens
who are balanced, trained, skilful and cherish the national
aspiration for unity.
The general direction for on-going curriculum
reform is to improve the quality of education in order to
achieve the aims of the National Education Philosophy

Source: UNESCO statistical yearbook, 1998, Paris.

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2. Central Curriculum Committee. (Secretariat: Central

Curriculum Committee, Ministry of Education.) Functions:
l to formulate curriculum policies, as well as study
their implications;
l to determine the direction of curriculum development and co-ordinate efforts to achieve this goal;
l to consider and make recommendations concerning
education planning and implementation, as well as to
present these findings to the Educational Planning
Committee;
l to study the implications of curriculum programmes
and to make decisions accordingly;
l to determine aspects which require research and
study.

(NEP). The NEP has been geared towards achieving the

nations vision to prepare children to become knowledgeable, trained and skilled individuals to meet the growing
needs of the millennium. It is envisaged that this can be
achieved by emphasizing science and technology, use of
information technology, and inculcating good moral and
work ethics suitable for the Information Age. The school
curriculum is designed to achieve the intended learning
outcomes for different ability levels.

CURRICULUM DESIGN
The national curriculum promotes unity through the use of
a single medium of instruction (the national language) and
the provision of the same core subjects for all pupils in all
schools within the National Education System. However,
the cultural diversity of different ethnic groups in Malaysia is preserved through the existence of National Type
Schools, which are allowed to use other major ethnic languages as the medium of instruction.
The underlying theoretical principle of national curriculum formulation is that of general education, using an
integrated approach in curriculum planning. The curriculum comprises content and skills, with emphasis on the
development of basic skills, the acquisition of knowledge
and thinking skills. Each subject must also incorporate
the inculcation of moral values and attitudes and the correct use of Malay and other languages, such as English,
Chinese and Tamil.
The integrated approach is the main focus in the
design of the Integrated Curriculum for Primary School
and Integrated Curriculum for Secondary School. The
elements of knowledge, skills and values are incorporated so as to bring the integrated development of the
intellectual, spiritual, emotional and physical aspects of
the individual.

3. Curriculum Implementation Committee. (Secretariat:

Central Curriculum Committee, Ministry of Education.)
Functions:
l responsible for co-ordinating all levels of preparation
in implementing any curriculum programmes
approved by the Central Curriculum Committee;
l to ensure co-ordination between the divisions of the
Ministry and the State Education Departments in the
implementation of the curriculum;
l to gather feedback on curriculum implementation at
the State, division/district and school levels;
l to organize forums to discuss successful innovative
programmes implemented at the State level.
4. State Curriculum Committee. Functions:
l to monitor, assess and guide principals, headmasters
and teachers in the implementation of the curriculum;
l to gather and analyze information and take the necessary follow-up action;
l to co-ordinate the implementation of activities
between policy makers and implementers at the Ministry, division/district and school levels;
l to co-ordinate the use of resources for curriculum
implementation;
l to plan, manage and co-ordinate courses organized
for teachers by the State Education Department;
l to plan, manage and implement innovative projects;
l to improve professionalism among teachers.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND

MECHANISMS OF CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Malaysias system of curriculum development is centralized. The Ministry of Education through its central agency, namely the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC),
is responsible for initiating curriculum development. The
CDC is responsible for the development of the pre-school,
primary school and secondary school curriculum. In the
implementation of the curriculum, however, various committees have been set up in the Ministry of Education,
State Education Departments, Divisions/District Education Offices and schools.

5. Division/District Curriculum Committee. Functions:

l to plan activities and curriculum implementation
strategies at division/district levels;
l to arrange and organize courses and seminars to disseminate the latest information to teachers and all
personnel concerned;
l to advise and guide teachers in curriculum implementation;
l to monitor, supervise and evaluate the implementation of the curriculum;
l to provide feedback to the higher authorities on the
implementation of the curriculum;
l to plan, manage and implement innovative projects at
the division/district levels.

1. Educational Planning Committee. (Secretariat: Educational Planning and Research Division, Ministry of Education.) Functions:
l to approve and formulate the major policies in the
Ministry of Education;
l to consider all projects related to policy matters.
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of students scores by items, their achievement in the various skills can be inferred. Should the performance drop
below the expected standard, related divisions of the Ministry look into the problem and take prompt action to improve students future achievement.
The various divisions of the Ministry also carry out
related studies to find out the impact of the curriculum on
students achievement. These focus on specific areas of
interest, and information is commonly collected using
surveys, class observations or test items. Information
obtained reflects the effectiveness of the curriculum and
the Ministry is required from time to time to take followup action, such as reviewing the syllabus, textbooks and
other teaching materials, and improving teacher/learning
strategies.

6. School Curriculum Committee. Functions:

l to plan, organize and evaluate teaching/learning
activities in schools;
l to work towards increasing the knowledge and competence of teachers and students;
l to study the suitability of the subject content and
inform parties concerned;
l to study, evaluate and determine the suitability of
textbooks or other materials;
l to assess the scheme of work;
l to assess pupil performance and to identify follow-up
action;
l to plan and conduct in-house training programmes
for all teachers;
l to disseminate information to all teachers on the latest progress and development in education;
l to produce more educational resource materials in
schools;
l to identify suitability of educational electronic media
programmes in teaching-learning activities;
l to co-operate in the on-going assessment in schools;
l to co-ordinate additional learning activities.

CONCLUSION
Careful planning is necessary to ensure the implementation of the curriculum. Thus, the school plays an important
role in creating a conducive environment encouraging excellence. In this respect, headmasters and teachers need to
understand and internalize the National Education Philosophy, the aims and objectives of the National Education
Policy and the integrated approach of the curriculum.
Apart from the school and parents, society also plays an
important role. The success of the curriculum depends on
societys support in assisting the school to develop pupils
personalities and to participate actively in matters relating
to education.

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

Centralized examinations are held at the end of Year VI,
Form III and Form V. The results of these examinations
are used to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum.
Examination results also provide feedback to the planners
to improve students achievement. Based on the analysis

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