Overview of Malaysia’s Education Industry
Question:
Discuss about the Inclusion of Entrepreneurship Education.
The education industry of Malaysia is overlooked by the Ministry of Education in the Country that is headed by Mahdzir Khalid. The various states and the federal territories of the country however, have their individual departments dedicated to the education. These departments situated within the various states and the federal territories within the country are entrusted with the duties of coordinating with the various institutions in matters pertaining to the education in the concerned state or the federal territory. The major legislation that helps in governing the matters pertaining to the education in the country is the Education Act of 1996 (Persekolahan & Permohonan, 2018). The education system of the country is divided into some major subdivisions including the stages of preschooling, the primary education, the secondary education, the post-secondary education and the tertiary forms of the education in the country. The Malaysian government allows the concerned students to obtain education from the multitude of the public schools that are available all over the country. There are also a huge number of private schools and provisions that advocate homeschooling that are recognized by the Malaysian government. The government of Malaysia has deemed the conditions of the primary education to be mandatory for the citizens of the country. The Malaysian country proudly boasts of the huge number of the educational institutions that are present within the country. There are 9 branch campuses of the foreign universities, 414 privately owned colleges, 31 colleges registered under the privately-owned universities, and 43 universities in the country that are dedicated to the purpose of the higher education in the country (Malaysiauniversity.net, 2018). The following report deals with the PESTELED analysis of the education industry in the country of Malaysia. The report further proceeds to present a SWOT analysis of one of the top schools in Penang, Malaysia, The International School of Penang (Uplands), Malaysia.
The education industry has been regarded to be one of those industries that are influenced by the political environment of the country. The education industry of the country might be held responsible for the promotion of the integration and the racial harmony of the country, thereby affecting the political conditions of the country. The educational industry in Malaysia is affected by the political condition in the country as well. The government of Malaysia has been trying to implement the Malay Language as the national language in the country. This might pose to be an issue for the government due to the fact that the Malaysian country comprises of people who belong to different linguistic backgrounds (Akareem & Hossain, 2016). The schools that impart primary education to the students tend to impart education in the various mother tongues of the students although as an elective subject. The introduction of the Malay language as the primary mode of education might have led to the promotion of the usage of the national language of the country. The internationalization of the education industry of the country has led to the voluptuous growth of the education industry of the country. The political conditions of the country have been favorable for the students who have been visiting the country with the intention of continuing their academic career in the concerned country. The cultural compatibility of the students belonging to the middle eastern regions and the Asia-Pacific areas play a major role in boosting the education industry of the country. The stability in the political scenario of the country might also help the education industry of the country to experience a huge growth within the relatively short span of time. The students find the rates of gaining a visa for the purpose of study in Malaysia to be cheaper than the other countries that they might choose for their higher education.
Government’s Role in Education
The economic factors refer to the various factors that deal with the economic growth and the inflation rate of the concerned business. In the concerned case, the various economic factors that affect the education sector are the fees that are levied by the various educational institutions of the country. The cost of education in Malaysia is affordable by the concerned students who might wish to continue with their studies in the concerned country (Singh, 2016). The cost of the higher education in the country ranges from the 8600 USD to 14,300 USD in all the various academic courses that are available in the various courses of the bachelor’s degree programs. The branch that is dedicated to the medicine tends to be a bit costlier but the foreign students find it cheaper than the other universities that are present over the world (Vaz & Mansori, 2013). The cost of living in Malaysia is comparatively low than that in the other countries of the world. This attracts a huge number of students to the Malaysian lands and thus helps in contributing to the economy of the country. The other courses offered by the various institutions in the country tend to cost around 2300 USD to 3100 USD for the duration of one year which is comparatively cheaper than the similar courses in the other countries of the world (Universitymalaysia.net., 2018). The cost that the students might incur for pursuing courses related to the preparation for the external examinations on a professional level might be comparatively less and might be ranging from 2900 USD to 4500 USD depending on the market value of the concerned profession (Malaysiauniversity.net, 2018). The Malaysian education industry is one of the most flourishing industries in the country that helps to provide a huge boost to the economy of the country.
The social factors that need to be kept in mind while performing the PESTELED analysis of the concerned education industry of Malaysia include the various cultural conditions, the growth rate of the population in the country, the distribution among the various areas within the industry based on the age of the participants in the various educational institutions of the country. The social points of view claims to point at the restoration of the various cultures and the endemic languages that have been present and are used within the country.it also focusses on the comprehension of the culture and the languages of the students who have been getting themselves enrolled in the country for the various educational purposes (Abdullah, 2013). The internationalization of the education industry has led to the merger of the various cultures and he languages within the country. This has led to the internationalization of the Malaysian education industry and thus has helped in the increase in the economic conditions of the country. The other social factors that affect the education sector of the country help in the internationalization of the various universities that have been operative within the country. The different cultural and social conditions in the market however also result in the practice and upholding of the cultural diversity among the students who have been pursuing their education in the various universities in the country (Bell, 2004). The cultural diversity also helps the concerned management of the schools to put forth an improvement in the quality of the teaching that is imparted to the students and the quality of the researches that are undertaken by the concerned students who have been pursuing higher educational courses at the various international and the local universities in the country.
PESTELED Analysis of the Education Industry
The technological factors that are involved in the education industry tend to depend on the various technologies that might be implemented in the field of education in order to enhance the effectiveness of the education that is imparted to the concerned students. The huge amounts of improvements in the various technological aspects might help in the overall improvement of the education industry of the country (Chukwumah, 2015). The education industry in the country has been going through major changes in the factors that pertain to the technological matters involved in the education industry. The education industry in Malaysia has been heavily dependent on the technological factors like the e-learning portals, the online lecturing facilities, the round-the-clock support that is available to the concerned students. This might help the students to continue with their concerned academic activities without having to be physically present in the concerned classroom. These advancements of the technological factors might also help the students to clarify the doubts that they have beyond the class hours (Bidin & Ziden, 2013). This would prevent the conditions wherein the concerned educators would have to solve all the doubts of the concerned students during the class hours that might hamper the progress of the concerned class of the students due to the shortage in the time allotted for the same.
The environmental factors that majorly affect the education industry are the factors pertaining to the motivation of the students who have been studying at the various educational institutions of the country. This might help the students to get motivated and remain so without losing on to their own cultural uniqueness (Chong, Teh, & Tan, 2014). There are students studying in the various universities and the other educational institutions of the country who belong to different linguistic backgrounds and the various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The concerned management of the educational institutions should look into the matter that the students do not face any discrimination on the basis of the various ethnic groups that they belong. The students should not be discriminated on the basis of the differences in their cultural backgrounds. The environmental factors that affect the education industry in Malaysia are majorly dependent on the weather conditions that are prevalent within the country. The major seasonal change that affects the country and the educational systems is the heavy monsoon season that affects the country. The education industry of the country might be highly affected by the weather conditions in the country. The education ministry of the country might also arrange for the conditions wherein the students of the various institutions could log into the various portals at their own convenient space and time (Grapragasem, Krishnan, & Mansor, 2014). This might help them to study and carry on with the various activities related to their education without having to be physically present at the concerned institution. This might help the concerned educators to continue with the lessons in cases wherein the students would not be able to remain present in the concerned class of the institution.
SWOT Analysis of International School of Penang
The various legal factors that might affect the education industry of Malaysia include the educational laws of the country, the modifications that are imposed by the Ministry of Education of the country. The legal factors might also include the various matters related to the educational visas that are granted to the students who arrive in this country to continue with their higher education in various fields. The Ministry of Education in the country has ensured the fact that all the children of the country do receive the primary education. the education ministry of the country has ensured this by making it mandatory for the children of the country to get themselves enrolled at the various educational institutions that provide free education at the primary stages of education (Abedalaziz, Jamaluddin, & Chin, 2013). The administration of the country further states that the rates of procuring an education visa in the country is a lot more cheaper and hassle free in comparison to the other countries that offer similar courses to the students. This has helped the Malaysian education industry to turn into an ever-growing hub for the high-quality education. The students who have been visiting the country do face issues regarding their educational visas and have to renew them in order to continue with their courses of study in case the concerned visa expires.
The ethical factors that are involved in the education industry in Malaysia include the discrimination of the students based on the ethnic groups wherein they do belong. The government of the country have demonstrated a greater control on the implications of the rules that might help the restoration of the socio-economic positions that were held by the various ethnic groups in the country (Kenayathulla, 2015). The majority of the Malay population consists of the Bumiputera ethnic group that consists of almost 67.3% of the total population, the Chinese population make up 24.5% of the total population while the Indian population is responsible for only 7.2% of the Malay population of the country.
The demographic factors that affect the education industry of Malaysia are the socioeconomic status of the concerned students like the age of the student, the educational level of the students, the level of income of the student, the religious and cultural background of the students and the occupation of the student (Cheng, Mahmood, & Yeap, 2013). These demographic factors might hugely impact the educational industry of Malaysia. The education industry of Malaysia is known to tend to a huge number of the foreign students who arrive in the country in order to continue with their educational careers in the country (Zamberi, 2013). The attrition rate of the students who display the poor usage of English is quite high in the country.
The International School of Penang (Uplands) is one of the prestigious international schools situated in Penang in Malaysia. The school was founded in the year 1955 and is situated in the Batu Ferringhi region. This is one of the oldest and the most established of all the other schools of Malaysia. The school boasts of having over 700 students and 72 teachers who belong to 18 different countries. The total population of the school represents over 40 nationalities and is also known to depict excellent results in the national level examinations (Uplands.org, 2018). The school also boasts of having the boarding facilities that the international students might avail.
The strengths of the school lie in the fact that the school promotes a dynamic environment wherein there might be found a number of cultures that are co-existent. The school encourages the each and every member of the school to be engaged in the various activities that are organized by the management of the school. The school authorities claim to encourage the learners to get themselves engaged with the local as well as the wider community residing in the area. The brand value that is upheld by the school is one of the major strengths of the school. The brand value of the school in this case refers to the values of the cash flow that is dedicated towards the brand name of the school (Shahijan, Rezaei, & Preece, 2016). This school being one of the most established and oldest schools of the country has a high brand value.
The weaknesses of the International School of Penang (Uplands), Malaysia lie in the fact that the teaching staff at the school is not seen to be happy with the remuneration that they receive for the huge amount of labor that they put in in order to take care of the students of the concerned academic institution. This might result in the decrease in the quality of the education that is provided to the students who have been studying in the concerned school (Dyson, 2004). The staff of the school further put forth their grievances regarding the act that they do not receive benefits enough in lieu of the labor that they put in the concerned job.
The opportunities for the school might lie in the various areas that might attract the students to the school. The school might aim to develop the leadership strategy that is followed by the concerned authority in order to help boost the overall performance of the school. The school might bring about an improvement in the effectiveness of the management and the leadership by ensuring the fact that the managers and the leaders are involved directly in the assessment of the performance of the school. The school is also advised to bring about a rise in the quality of the teaching and the assessments that are conducted by the authorities of the school. This might be taken care of by ensuring the better quality of the education that is imparted to the students and the brisk pace of learning of the concerned students (Gleeson & Donnabháin, 2009). The concerned authority of the school is also advised to take care of the fact that there is and improvement in the use of the assessment so that the concerned assignment meets the need of the concerned student.
The school might face the threats on the matters concerning the funding that the school requires for functioning in a smooth manner. The lack of funds in the school might lead to the conditions wherein the school authorities might be forced to impose a hike on the fees that it levies on the students or might have to pull off certain facilities in order to compensate for the low funds that are received (Arokiasamy, Tat, & Abdullah, 2013).
Conclusion
Thus, from the above discussion it might be stated that the Malaysian education sector is presently at a position wherein there are scope of further improvement and flourishing. The growing number of the students in the country of Malaysia have resulted in the huge growth in the economy of the country. The education industry of Malaysia has been the attraction of the students from all over the world due to the low cost of education and the low costs incurred in the living conditions of the country. The high use of the technology in the education sector also serves as an attracting factor for the foreign students. The PESTELED analysis of the education industry of the country provides a clear in sight into the various factors that influence the education sector of the country. The analysis helps the concerned readers to have a better understanding of the education industry of Malaysia as well as the boost that the country receives on the economic front. The SWOT analysis of the International School of Penang (Uplands) helps the readers to identify the various strengths of the educational institution as well as the opportunities that the concerned educational institution might face in the near future. The analysis also points out the weaknesses and the threats that are faced by the educational institution during the current times as well as in the future.
References
Abdullah, A. J. (2013). Education and Economic Growth in Malaysia: The Issues of Education Data. Procedia Economics and Finance, 7, 65-72.
Abedalaziz, N., Jamaluddin, S., & Chin, H. L. (2013). Measuring attitudes toward computer and internet usage among postgraduate students in Malaysia. TOJET: The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 12(2).
Akareem, H. S., & Hossain, S. S. (2016). Determinants of education quality: what makes students’ perception different?. Open Review of Educational Research, 3(1), 52-67.
Arokiasamy, A. R., Tat, H. H., & Abdullah, A. (2013). The effects of rewards system and motivation on job satisfaction: Evidence from the education industry in Malaysia. World Applied Sciences Journal, 24(12), 1597-1604.
Bell, L. (2004). Strategic Planning in Primary Schools: a tale of no significance?. Management in Education, 18(4), 33-36.
Bidin, S., & Ziden, A. A. (2013). Adoption and application of mobile learning in the education industry. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 90, 720-729.
Cheng, M. Y., Mahmood, A., & Yeap, P. F. (2013). Malaysia as a regional education hub: a demand-side analysis. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 35(5), 523-536.
Chong, C. W., Teh, P. L., & Tan, B. C. (2014). Knowledge sharing among Malaysian universities’ students: do personality traits, class room and technological factors matter?. Educational Studies, 40(1), 1-25.
Chukwumah, F. O. (2015). Developing Quality Strategic Plan in Secondary Schools for Successful School Improvement. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(21), 136-144.
Dyson, R. G. (2004). Strategic development and SWOT analysis at the University of Warwick. European journal of operational research, 152(3), 631-640.
Gleeson, J., & Donnabháin, D. Ó. (2009). Strategic planning and accountability in Irish education. Irish Educational Studies, 28(1), 27-46.
Grapragasem, S., Krishnan, A., & Mansor, A. N. (2014). Current trends in Malaysian higher education and the effect on education policy and practice: An overview. International Journal of Higher Education, 3(1), 85.
Kenayathulla, H. B. (2015). Ethical issues in the Malaysian education system. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 47(5), 440-454.
Malaysiauniversity.net. (2018, March 20). Malaysian Universities. Retrieved from Malaysiauniversity.net: https://www.malaysiauniversity.net/
Persekolahan, B., & Permohonan, M. (2018, March 20). Retrieved from Home – Ministry of Education Malaysia. Moe.gov.my.: https://www.moe.gov.my/index.php/en/
Shahijan, M. K., Rezaei, S., & Preece, C. N. (2016). Developing a framework of internationalisation for higher education institutions in Malaysia: a SWOT analysis. International Journal of Management in Education, 10(2), 145-173.
Singh, M. K. (2016). Socio-economic, environmental and personal factors in the choice of country and higher education institution for studying abroad among international students in Malaysia. International Journal of Educational Management, 30(4), 505-519.
Universitymalaysia.net. (2018, March 20). Universities in Malaysia | International Students’ Guide. Retrieved from Universitymalaysia.net: https://www.universitymalaysia.net/
Uplands.org. (2018, March 20). Uplands Home – The International School of Penang: Uplands. The International School of Penang: Uplands. Retrieved from Uplands.org: https://www.uplands.org/school/
Vaz, A., & Mansori, S. (2013). Malaysian private education quality: Application of SERVQUAL model. International Education Studies, 6(4), 164.
Zamberi, A. S. (2013). The need for inclusion of entrepreneurship education in Malaysia lower and higher learning institutions. Education+ Training, 55(2), 191-203.