Private sector taps schools

KUALA LUMPUR: The mushrooming of private schools across the country in recent years has fuelled debate as to whether this development is driven by social changes and consumer demand or it reflects a lack of confidence in the public school system.

Over the last decade, the number of private education establishments has steadily grown with government statistics showing an increase of over 90% to 5,753 schools in 2007 from 3,003 in 1999.

Although the bulk of the privately-operated schools captured in the government data consisted of kindergartens and pre-schools, industry observers said the number of private primary, secondary and international schools had grown at an accelerated rate over the last five years.
The Roman Catholic Church opened the first Stella Maris private secondary school in 1996 as a response to calls from parents seeking a more holistic education for their children. This was followed by a primary school in 2003 and there are plans for a third school by 2013.

In comparison, the number of public primary schools has remained stagnant at about 7,600 between 2007 and 2009, according to government data. The number of public secondary schools has grown about 10% to 2,219 during the same period.

Columnist M Bakri Musa Bakri argues that the growing number of private educational institutions, especially in primary and secondary segments, may not necessarily be a healthy development.

“On the contrary, this trend may have arisen as the consequence of the sorry state of our public institutions,” Bakri wrote in the paper published by Malaysian think tank, the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas).

Deputy Education Minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong disagrees that the growth in private education is a response to the inadequacies of the public school system.

In a recent interview with The Edge Financial Daily, Wee points out that some high achieving public schools are as good as, if not better than, many of the privately-operated schools.

The co-existence of both types of schools could provide some healthy competition in the education sector, Wee said.

“Schools are not the only factor when it comes to students’ performance. There are various factors. Good students are a product of teachers, parents and the environment.

“But there is a gap. Unlike private schools, public schools are not allowed to select their students. In public schools, you have to take them in regardless of whether they are from rich or poor families and whether they have the initiative to study,” Wee said.

He admits that where education is concerned, a delicate balance needs to be struck between poor and well-to-do families as well as the rural-urban disparity.

Wee views private sector participation in education as a form of “democratisation of education” which provides parents with more options when picking out schools for their children.

Already, Malaysia’s education system is a diverse ecosystem with room for varied needs including government-operated schools, privately-run institutions, independent Chinese schools, international schools and mission schools.

The growth in private education is often attributed to the rising affluence of many middle-class families where some parents do not mind paying higher fees to ensure access to a better education environment and quality teachers.

To illustrate the importance many families place on education, Wee shares an anecdote. It is a tale of the famed Chinese philosopher Mencius whose mother shifted houses three times just to ensure that her children would live next to a good school and receive good education.

“That was 2,000 years ago. It shows how much people want their children to do well in examinations in order to elevate their social status via education”, Wee said.

He said the government has taken note of the growth in private schools but would not move to place a cap on the rising numbers.

The education ministry still monitors the syllabus offered by private schools, including fixing certain compulsory subjects that must be offered, Wee said.

The growth in the number of privately-operated schools has prompted questions as to what roles these establishments would play in the education landscape and what policies should be enacted to accommodate them.

Bakri, in his policy paper, argues that the private sector — with its flexibility and responsiveness — can be enlisted to help meet the increasingly sophisticated and varied educational needs of Malaysians.

But for this to happen, Bakri said policymakers must abandon the “zero-sum” mentality that views the private sector in adversarial rather than complementary terms.

“Malaysia has a sizable population clearly demanding a First World level of sophistication for the education of their children but with the vast majority still needing the basics.

“[The government] cannot fulfil these needs ... through a rigid single-school system,” Bakri argued.

Private sector players could also help raise the bar for quality education but Bakri warns that vigilance is necessary to ensure that private sector participation in education does not inadvertently widen the social divide.

According to Bakri, there are two broad forms of private sector participation in education: privately-operated schools that are still regulated by the government and a public-private partnership model.

“Both would require an official recognition of the fact that while education is a public good, the government is not the only entity that can provide it,” Bakri said.