Publication: Shaping First Steps: A Comprehensive Review of Preschool Education in Malaysia
Date
2023-05-31
ISSN
Published
2023-05-31
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
The potential benefits from
supporting early childhood development range from healthy
development to a greater capacity to learn and increased
productivity in adulthood. Despite undertaking various
preschool education reforms and initiatives, issues of
access and quality remain and continue to grow. The Malaysia
Education Blueprint (2013-2025) set a target to achieve
universal preschool enrollment by 2020, and Malaysia, along
with many other developing countries, has yet to achieve
this. Findings from the World Bank’s preschool survey and
stakeholder interviews carried out for this report point to
a range of issues, such as a lack of preschool seat
availability in certain areas, low awareness among parents
on the benefits of sending their children to preschools,
affordability of preschool expenses, low teacher quality,
and concerns over the overlapping roles between the multiple
ministries and agencies that oversee ECCE in Malaysia. This
review is carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of
Education (MOE) and is a comprehensive assessment of
Malaysia’s current preschool education landscape. The review
aims to identify the gaps between the targets and
aspirations set by MOE and the government under various
policy documents and the outcomes to date. It also aims to
deep-dive into the underlying reasons for these gaps, and
seek solutions to close them and achieve the aspirations.
This report synthesizes the findings from research,
analysis, and stakeholder engagement activities, and is
organized by a framework of targets, pillars, and enablers.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2023. Shaping First Steps: A Comprehensive Review of Preschool Education in Malaysia. The Malaysia Development Experience Series; May 2023. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/39851 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”