6

INCREASING ACCESS TO

AND RETENTION IN PRIMARY

EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA

Lorraine Pe Symaco

INTRODUCTION

Access to and quality of education have been key agendas of the

Malaysian government to foster national unity and enhance economic

growth. The First Malaysia Plan (1966–70) and the subsequent plans give

much importance to education: “unless the education system is geared to

meet the development needs of the country, there will be a misallocation

of an important economic resource, which will slow down the rate of

economic and social advance” (Government of Malaysia 1965, p. 163). The

government allocates substantial financial resources to education annually,

constituting about 17 per cent of the total public expenditure.

The Malaysian Ministry of Education has worked closely with state and

district education offices, international organizations (e.g., United Nations

Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees (UNHCR)), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such

as Child Aid Borneo and Human Rights Commission, to expand access to

Reproduced from Education and Globalization in Southeast Asia: Issues and Challenges, edited by
Lee Hock Guan (Singapore: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, 2017). This version was obtained electronically direct
from the publisher on condition that copyright is not infringed. No part of this publication may be reproduced
without the prior permission of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
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