Malaysia Offers Increasing Choice of International Schools
Richard Gaskell from the International School Consultancy (ISC) offers some insights into the expanding international school industry in Malaysia and beyond. Malaysia is one of the leading countries in the world today for the provision of global K-12 English-medium international education. According to the very latest data from the International School Consultancy (ISC), which provides research and intelligence on the world’s international schools market, Malaysia currently has 160 English-medium international schools. They provide learning for over 66,000 children. Malaysia thus remains securely within the top twenty countries in the world with regard to the number of English-medium international schools. As part of its aim to become a high income nation by 2020, the Malaysian government has promoted the development of international schools. These schools are helping not only to attract leading multinationals, such as Nestlé, Hewlett Packard and KPMG, to the country by providing the desired education for the children of their expatriate staff, but also an increasing number of Malaysian families who are choosing international schools for their children. Government regulations, such as the requirement for Malaysian national schools to use Bahasa Malaysia as the medium of instruction, plus a removal of quota limits on local children attending international schools, have paved the way for a significant increase in the number of applications from local families for places in these schools.
This demand has resulted in a major shift in the size and demographics of Malaysia’s international schools market. According to the ISC Market Intelligence Report on International Schools in Malaysia, the total number of English-medium international schools in the country has increased by 39% in the last five years, and student enrolment has increased by 49%, with locals now making up approximately 50% of all international school students in Malaysia. ‘More and more parents in Malaysia are opting to enrol their children in international schools,’ says Margaret Kaloo, Director and Principal of elc International School in Selangor. ‘These parents are seeing that an English-medium international education delivers many benefits, both academically and developmentally,’ she explains. ‘They see the education on offer in an international school as holistic, providing excellent teaching and learning experiences. For the most part, international schools in Malaysia incorporate the latest technology to enable inquiry-based activities, and, in addition, offer rich and rewarding co-curricular and extracurricular opportunities thus ensuring the well-rounded development of each child. For Malaysian parents, this of course is seen as offering their children an opportunity to enter prestigious universities and, ultimately, leading to employment opportunities around the world. It is therefore little wonder that international education is becoming an increasingly popular option for families in Malaysia, and the international school market here is expanding to meet this demand.’
More Options, More Availability
Some of the latest international school developments in the country include Epsom College in Malaysia (ECiM) which opened in September 2014, and has gained popularity because of its boarding facilities, and Taylor’s International School Puchong, which opened last January (2015) with 500 students. Schools yet to open include the ones listed below with the proposed dates of commencement in parentheses: St. Joseph’s Institution International School Malaysia in the suburb of Petaling Jaya (September 2016); Raffles American School with boarding facilities in Johor (2016); Gems International School in Subang Jaya (September 2017); and Tenby International School in Selangor (September 2018). Kuala Lumpur, which currently has 23% of all international schools in Malaysia, is home to the vast majority of Malaysia’s premier international schools including Garden International School and the International School of Kuala Lumpur. The city is also the base for one of Malaysia’s two distinctive education hubs: Education City.
The second hub, EduCity, is located in Iskandar. Both hubs are aiming to provide high quality internationally-oriented education for all ages, including a selection of universities. EduCity, for example, is home to Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia, University of Southampton Malaysia, University of Reading Malaysia, Marlborough College Malaysia, Netherlands Maritime Institute of Technology, and Raffles American School. Raffles University Iskandar will be open for enrolment soon. Kuala Lumpur’s Education City includes Epsom College in Malaysia and Universiti Sains Malaysia Global Campus. These two education hubs have been established, not only to attract more skilled expatriates to the country, but also to increase options for local citizens. The intention is to reduce emigration of Malaysians, some of whom have moved overseas in search of an improved standard of education. For the established international schools in Malaysia, business is good and many are expanding. Marlborough College Malaysia, for example, opened in 2012 with 350 pupils and this year (2015-2016), the enrolment soared to 800 students.
The Future for Malaysia
Looking to the future, Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley is developing at a pace, supported by government aspirations to make it a leading global metropolis. As the capital and commercial heart of the country, this region represents a crucial part of Malaysia’s 2020 plan and, as such, will boast the highest standards of business and residential infrastructure. For this reason, the Klang Valley is attracting many more expatriates and premier international schools.
Tengku Azian, Director of Education at Pemandu, the Malaysian Government’s Performance Management and Delivery Unit, has been leading many of the recent school developments at Government level, and has confirmed that several new schools have been granted approval recently. This will give rise to a greater variety of international school options in the near future. These include an Australian independent school, and a British Council international school, only the second British Council international school in the world. This new school, which is due to open in 2017, will be located in Kuala Lumpur and will be aimed at Malaysian nationals with an emphasis on multilingual and multicultural learning. ‘Attending an international school is no longer just for the rich and famous,’ says Margaret Kaloo. ‘With many new licenses for new schools already approved by the Malaysian government, the total number of international schools is set to rise. This means there will be an even greater variety of alternatives for parents to choose from, with many more affordable options for middle-class families. Indeed, an English-medium international education in Malaysia is now within the reach of many.’
Beyond Malaysia
As for the wider South East Asian region, the demand for K-12 international schools continues to grow because of the high quality, English-medium learning and internationally recognised curricula and examinations they deliver. There are currently 862 English-medium international schools throughout South East Asia teaching over 338,000 students. Three countries, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, lead the region, each with well over 100 schools, and Vietnam and Singapore also offer an extensive choice. Much of the demand comes from local families who want a high quality, English-medium education for their children. Singapore is a notable exception where locals are not allowed to attend its international schools.
About the author
Richard Gaskell is Director for International Schools at the International School Consultancy (ISC), the leading provider of data and intelligence on the worldwide international schools market. More information is available at www.iscresearch.com