Quality English Education for Malaysia

What is Education to you?

The classic definition of education is "the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university". But education is much more than that, and you know it. It is, whether you like it or not, a continuous learning process throughout your entire life. It is the fundamental right of every Malaysian citizen because it promotes empowerment and ensures development benefits. Many governments across the world, including Malaysia’s, have recognised the importance of education as a tool to enhance progress and make the world a better place. 

 

Malaysia Needs Quality English Education Now, More Than Ever

I am sure you will agree that your personal experiences in life, your knowledge and accumulated skill sets affect how you can sustain your basic needs and survive. This same logic can be extended to a national level. A nation's education system is what builds a nation’s population skill sets, knowledge and experiences. It is what drives the success of a country in the long run.

Here’s a sobering fact:

3,500,000 students in Malaysia do not meet the minimum English proficiency required from secondary school graduates. That’s 72% of Malaysian students who will enter the workforce at a disadvantage. Source: Ministry of Education, Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025, p33, p114. Poor English proficiency has major implications on Malaysian society, education, and economy. Both in LEARNING and EARNING power. Here are some of the pitfalls an individual with poor English proficiency in Malaysia will encounter:

• Students unable to peak perform in academic studies.
• Inability to access study materials in English. This is a major handicap considering more than 80% of academic journals and online study content are published in English.
• RM 1,000 vs RM 1,800 starting salary for SPM graduates without and with English proficiency. That’s a 70% income gap in their career right off the bat. Take that career-long income gap into account with our population, and that sum balloons up to a RM 4,150,000,000,000 loss of potential income (that’s RM 4.15 TRILLION by the way). This has the potential to cause serious economic implications not only to the individual but to the country as a whole.
• Limited employability. Globalization has blurred national borders and enhanced economic potential for businesses to operate in various locations all over the world. The current international business ‘Lingua Franca’ is English. Companies are aware of this and are constantly on the lookout for candidates who are proficient in the language to hire. Be honest, wouldn’t you prefer to hire an English speaking individual for your company?

 

The list can go on, but let’s stop it there.

What Malaysia’s Prime Minister, YAB Tun Dr. Mahathir, Thinks of English Proficiency in Malaysia

Source: malaysiakini.com

 

There is a multitude of positive impacts which result from STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education, the primary impact for those who study it is that they’re able to develop a career which will support them for the remainder of their working lives. To give you an example of just how lucrative these degrees are, the top earning 35 bachelor’s degrees are all in the STEM fields.

 

Our government’s strategy to make Malaysia a centre of educational excellence requires that STEM courses be taught in English. YAB Dr. Tun Mahathir bin Mohamad has urged Malaysians to overcome their nationalistic pride and accept that. "A nation where the people are adamant to preserve their mother tongue and if we lack knowledge, then the country will not progress," he told Dewan Rakyat during Minister's Question time. But how will we Malaysian citizens start learning science and mathematics in English, when a majority of us don’t even speak the language? English is THE most important second language in the country.

What Quality English Education Gives You

Quality English education can open the door to a whole new world of opportunities and put you on the path to success. Here are some things it will provide you: 

 

 

1. Confidence - One of the biggest things that English does to you is the ability to present in a confident and convincing manner. The ability to fluently speak English showcases an important trait of your personality. You will be confident while taking part in a debate, meeting, or presentation. It will even help get you past that first big hurdle - a job interview.
2. Competency - Competency comes hand-in-hand with a solid education. With strong English education, you’ll be well prepared to enter and excel in the competitive workforce. Yes, all good jobs need good English communication skills. Business requires you to be able to talk to clients, suppliers and partners in English.
3. Lifetime knowledge - Not only does it establish a foundation for your career, but it is a skill that’ll be useful for years to come. Especially with most of the world’s digital learning resources utilising English as their language of choice.
4. Quality of life - Knowledge is in English, knowledge is power and you need the power to fight for yourself. The more you learn, the more you will potentially earn, the better your quality of life.
5. Connecting across borders - Education has given students from across borders opportunities to connect and communicate and work towards building a better future and a better world.
6. Empowerment - Education helps turn weakness into strength. English is not just another language. English is the language of business and communication worldwide. It is also the most widespread spoken and written language in the world, with an estimated 1.5 billion people speaking the language. Learning English can open a world of opportunities and enable you to communicate with a lot more people and businesses. Proper English proficiency provides you with the confidence you need in the workplace.

Better Malaysia Schools Are Coming

Where do Malaysians first learn to speak English? Schools. We realised that there is a massive need to address this issue of low English proficiency, and what better way than to go straight to the root of it? The aim of Better Malaysia Schools (approved by the Ministry of Education) is to enhance the level of English proficiency in Malaysian primary and secondary schools nationwide, through providing an effective and impactful after school English programme to students. Here’s where this education-driven CSR programme is different:

• Effective & proven methodology
• CEFR & national syllabus aligned
• Digital learning & resources
• Employs retirees, retired teachers, and fresh graduates.

Why choose Better Malaysia Schools?

• Tax exemption from LHDN
• High community impact
• Meaningful employee engagement
• Long-term programmes aligned to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• We provide good visibility and value on multiple platforms
• Proven sustainable initiatives with high volume of beneficiaries

Looking for an Education-Driven CSR Programme in Malaysia?

Students’ proficiency in the English language takes time and resources to fully develop. Good command of any language usually takes years to develop, and the sooner we start on the road to competently teach and use English in our national schools, the better for us as we strive to become a high-income nation. There are many CSR programmes in Malaysia, none of which are looking at the scale of sustainable impact that we can achieve together through this. 

 

 

SOLS 24/7 has perfected the art of teaching English into a 100-hour programme. Our methodology has been tried-and-tested for close to 2 decades. With over 400,000 students trained, we believe we have the experience, resources, and expertise to tackle Malaysia’s English proficiency challenge. Together, we can make a real and measurable social impact on the Malaysian community. Learn how your company can become a CSR partner with us to provide a quality English education to Malaysia’s youth. Invest in Malaysia, invest in our country’s future leaders. Leave no student behind. Adopt and transform a school today.

 

 

 

Written by Marcomms Manager, Hitesh Vasnani

Edited by Marcomms Director, Harvind Ganase