Akta Pendidikan 1996Education Act 1996

Learning Outcomes

Students are able to: Differentiate the main differences between

Education Act 1961 and Education Act 1996 (550)

Describe the implications of the major Sections of the Act on school management

Recognize the importance of selected regulations in school management

Keynote Address by Former Minister of Education

1998

Keynote address entitled Reforms in Education: The Next Stage The passing of the six legislation namely … were intended to

bring about a quantum leap to the education system which will bring about sweeping changes to the country’s leading institutions. The legislations, among others, are intended to produce a new generation of Malaysians who are able to:

Acquire knowledge and skills, Intellectually competent, Scientifically minded, Emotionally stable, Morally upright and socially apt.

Background

It is a /refinement/continuation of Education Act 1961 Reports related to national education policy: Razak Report Rahman Talib Report (1961) Hussein Onn Report (1971) Mahathir Report (1985) Akta Pendidikan 1996

Acts in Education

Act 546 National Council on Higher Education Act 1996

Akta Majlis Pendidikan Tinggi Negara 1996 An Act to establish the National Council on Higher Education and to provide for its functions relating to higher education and for matters connected therewith.

Act 550 Education Act 1996

Akta Pendidikan 1996 An Act to provide for education and for matters connected therewith

Act 555 Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996

Akta Pendidkan Tinggi Swasta 1996 An Act to provide for the establishment, registration, management and supervision of, and the control of the quality of education provided by, private higher educational institutions and for matters connected therewith.

Act 556 Lembaga Akreditasi Negara Act 1996

Akta Lembaga Akreditasi Negara 1996 An Act to establish the Lembaga Akreditasi Negara and to provide for its functions and power and for matters connected therewith.

Act 566 Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional Act

1997 Akta Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional 1997 An Act to establish the Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional, to incorporate the Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional, and to provide for related matters.

Act 580 Akta Kaunselor 1998 Counsellors Act 1998

Act 30 Universities and University Colleges Act 1971

Akta Universiti dan Kolej 1971 An Act to provide for the establishment, maintenance and administration of Universities and University Colleges and for other matters connected therewith.

Education Act 1996 (Act 550) & Selected Regulations

as at 25th April 2008

Compiled by Legal Research Board. International Law Book Services: Selangor, Petaling Jaya

Act 550Subsidiary Legislation

PU(A) 109/98Education (Assessment and Examination) (Amendment) Regulations 1998

PU(A) 118/98Education (Parent-Teacher Association) Regulations 1998 PU(A) 167/98Education (Private Educational Institutions) (Discipline of

Pupils) Regulations 1998 PU(A) 196/98Education (School Associations) Regulations 1998 PU(A) 197/98Education (School Terms, Days and Holidays)

Regulations 1998 PU(A) 219/98Education (Private Educational Institutions) (Standards)

Regulations 1998

Cont…

PU(A) 229/98Education (Private Educational Institutions) (Advertisement) Regulations 1998

PU(A) 232/2002Education (Account and Audit) Regulations 2002 PU(A) 275/98Education (Admission Of Pupils To Schools,

Keeping Of Registers And Conditions Under Which Pupils May Be Retained In Schools) Regulations 1998

PU(A) 279/98Corrigendum PU(A) 95/98Education (School Magazines and Multi Media

Materials) Regulations 1998

Act 550Arrangement of Sections

Part I Preliminary Section 1 & 2 Part II Administration Section 3 - 9 Part III National Educational Advisory Council Section 10 - 14 Chapter 1 National Educational System Section 15 - 19

Chapter 2 Pre-School education Section 20 - 26Chapter 3 Primary education Section 27 – 29AChapter 4 Secondary education Section 30 - 32Chapter 5 Post-secondary education Section 33Chapter 6 Other educational systems Section 34

Chapter 7 Technical education and polytechnics Section 35 - 39

Chapter 8 Special education Section 40 - 41

Chapter 9 Teacher education Section 42 - 49

Chapter 10 Religious teaching in educational institutions Section 50 - 52

Chapter 11 Management of educational institutions Section 53 - 63

Chapter 12 Provisions of facilities and services Section 64 - 66

Part V Assessment and examination Section 67 - 69

Part VI Higher education Section 70 - 73 Part VII Private educational institutions Section 73 - 78 Part VIII Registration of educational institutions

Chapter 1 Registration of Educational Institutions Section 79 – 86Chapter 2 Cancellation of registration Section 87Chapter 3 Registration of Governors and Employees Section 88 – 97Chapter 4 Registration of Pupils Section 98Chapter 5 Inspection of Educational Institutions by the Registrar General Section 99 - 102

Part IX Registration of teachers Chapter 1 Registration of Teachers Section 103 – 113Chapter 2 Permits to teach Section 114 - 116

Part X The Inspectorate of SchoolsChapter 1 The Inspectorate Section 117 – 120Chapter 2 General Section 121 - 122

Part XI Finance Section 123 - 125 Part XII Appeals Section 126 - 129 Part XIII Regulations Section 130 -131

Part XIV Offences and penalties Section 132 - 139 Part XV Miscellaneous Section 140 - 145 Part XVI Transitional and appeal Section 146 - 156

Interpretation

Capital grant (sumbangan model) means a payment from public funds to an educational institution for:

a. The provision of buildings

b. the alteration to or extension of existing premises

c. the provision of furniture or equipment for new, altered or extended premises or

d. such other purposes as may be prescribed

Grant-in-aid (sumbangan bantuan) means any payment from public funds, other than a capital grant, made to an educational institution

Kindergarten means any place where pre-school education is provided to ten or more pupils.

Post-secondary education means education provided to a person who has completed upper secondary education, but does not include higher education

Transition class means a class in a secondary school providing one year of instruction to pupils from a primary school using a language other than the national language as the medium of instruction prior to the commencement of the lower secondary education

Focus of Education Act 1996National Education System

Reference is given to National Philosophy of Education Section 15 National Education System

National Education System shall comprise:

Pre-school education

Primary education

Secondary education

Post-secondary education

Higher education

Section 16 Categories of educational institutions

Three categories of educational institutions:

Government educational institutions

Government-aided educational institutions

Private educational institutions

National Education System

Section 17 National language as the main medium of instruction

(1) The national language should be the main medium of instruction in all educational institutions in National Educational System except a national-type school established under Section 28 or any other educational institution exempted by the Minister from this subsection

(2) When the main medium of instruction in an educational institution is other than the national language, the national language shall be taught as a compulsory subject in the educational institution.

Section 19 Schools to prepare pupils for prescribed examination

Every school shall prepare pupils for examinations prescribed by or under this act or any regulations made under this act unless otherwise exempted by or under this act

Pre-school Education

Section 20 Prohibition against the establishment, operation or management of kindergartens

(1) No kindergarten shall be established, operated or managed unless it is registered under this Act.

(2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence

22 (1) The Minister shall prescribe a curriculum, to be known as the National Pre-school Curriculum, that shall be used by all kindergartens in the National Educational System(2) The National Pre-school Curriculum prescribed under subsection (1) shall specify the knowledge, skills and values that are expected to be acquired by pupils at the end of their respective period of pre-school education(3) Any Kindergarten intending to implement any curriculum in addition to the National Pre-school Curriculum shall, before implementing such additional curriculum, inform the Registrar General of such intention in such manner as may be prescribed(4) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both

23 Notwithstanding subsection 17(1), languages other than the national language may be used as a medium of instruction in kindergartens, but where a kindergarten uses a language other than the national language, the national language shall be taught as a compulsory subject.

26 Sections 18 and 19 shall not apply to kindergartens

Primary Education

27 It shall be the duty of the Minister to provide primary education in government and government-aided primary schools

28 Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Minister may establish national schools and national-type schools and shall maintain (menyenggarakan) such schools

29 A(2) Every parent who is a Malaysian citizen residing in Malaysia shall ensure that if his child has attained the age of six years on the first day of January of the current school year that child is enrolled as a pupil in a primary school in that year and remains a pupil in a primary school for the duration of the compulsory education

(4) A parent who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both

Minister to Provide Secondary School

30 (1) It shall be the duty of the Minister to provide secondary education in the following national secondary schools:

(a) academic secondary schools;

(b) technical secondary schools, and

© secondary schools of such other descriptions as the Minister may from time to time determine

32 The Minister may provide for a transition class in any academic national secondary school

Post-secondary School

33 The Minister may provide post-secondary education in:

(a) the national secondary schools described in paragraphs (30)(1)(a) and (1)(b);

(b) colleges; and © any other national secondary school or

educational institution established and maintained by the Minister under this Act

Technical Education in National Schools and other Educational Institutions

Collaboration with other institutions and industrial organizations in technical and vocational education

Section 37 (1) Subject to approval of the Minister, a polytechnic established under the Act may, in collaboration with any other institution, corporation or industrial organization, conduct technical or vocational courses or or training programmes (including exchange programmes) which the Minister deems expedient for the purposes of:(a) giving effect to the transfer of technology;(b) upgrading technical and vocational skills of teachers, employees and pupils of the polytechnic; and© carrying out such training programmes as the Minister considers desirable and beneficial to the polytechnic or its pupils or teachers.

Special Education

40 The Minister shall provide special education in special schools established under paragraph 34(1)(b) or in such primary or secondary schools as the Minister deems expedient

41 (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the Minister may by regulations prescribe:(a) the duration of primary and secondary education suitable to the needs of a pupil in receipt of special education(b) the curriculum to be used in respect of special education© and (d)(2) The duration prescribed by the Minister under paragraph (1)(a) shall not be less than the minimum duration for primary or secondary education, as the case may be, provided for under this Act(3)

Teacher Education

42 No person shall establish or maintain a teacher education college except with the approval of the Minister

44 A teacher education college established under this Act may award a certificate or such other qualifications as may be prescribed

Provision to courses of study in respect of degrees, etc. conferred by universities etc

Section 47 (1)A teacher education college established under this Chapter may, with the approval of the Minister, conduct courses of study or training programmes for degrees, diplomas, certificates or other forms of recognition of a qualification conferred by any university of other institution of higher learning within Malaysia or outside Malaysia.(2) The approval given under subsection (1) may be made subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may deem fit to impose(3) and

(4) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or fails to comply with any term or condition imposed by the Minister under subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding thirty thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both

Religious Teaching in Educational Institutions

Section 50 Teaching of the Islamic Religion (1) Where in an educational institution there are five or more pupils

professing the Islamic religion, such pupils shall be given religious teaching in Islamic by teachers approved by the State Authority

(2) The teaching required in an educational institution under subsection (1) shall be for a period of at least two hours a week within the period of general teaching of the educational institution, or within such other period as the Minister may, in the case of any particular educational institution appoint

(3) – (4)

51 Teaching of religious knowledge of a religion other than Islam

The governors of government-aided educational institution may provide for the religious teaching in a religion other than Islam to the pupils of the educational institution or to any of them but –

(a) no such provision shall be defrayed from the monies provided by Parliament; and

(b) no pupil shall attend teaching in a religion under than that which he professes, except with the written consent of his parent.

Assessment and Examination

67 (1) The Minister may prescribe the manner in which pupils in primary and secondary schools shall be assessed and the standards to be achieved by the pupils

(2) The assessment prescribed under subsection (1) shall be in addition to any prescribed examination

Registration of Teachers

103 (1) Subject to subsection (2), no person shall teach in an educational institution unless he is registered as a teacher under this Act

(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply:(a) to a person who is a member of the Education Service teaching in a government or government-aided educational institution(b) to a person to whom a permit to teach has been issued under 114; and© to a pupil in an educational institution for the training of teachers established by and under the direct control of the Minister

106 The Registrar General may refuse to register a person as a teacher under this Act if he is satisfied that the person:

(a) is under the age of eighteen years (b) has no qualification to teach or has qualifications which in the opinion

of the Registrar General are inadequate for the purpose © has made a statement which is false or misleading or which he know is

false or misleading in, or in connection with his application for registration or has intentionally suppressed any fact which is material to the application

(d) suffers from some physical or mental defect or disease rendering him, in the opinion of the Registrar General, unsuitable to be a teacher

(e) has been convicted of an offence by a court of law and sentenced to imprisonment for a term not less than one year or to a fine of not less than two thousand ringgit

(f) is not a fit and proper person to be registered as a teacher

Section 71Private education institutions to comply with the requirement of National Curriculum and to prepare pupils for prescribed examinations

Section 121 General powers of Inspectors of Schools For the purpose of making any inspection of an educational

institution under section 117, the Chief Inspector or an Inspector of Schools may –

(a) at any time enter an educational institution (b)

Major Differences Between Education Act 1961and Education Act 1996

National Education Philosophy is specifically spelled out under Act 1996

Pendidikan di Malaysia ialah suatu usaha berterusan ke arah lebih mmeperkembangkan potensi individu secara menyeluruh dan bersepadu untuk melahirkan insan yang seimbang dan harmonis dari segi intelek, rohani, emosi dan jasmani berdasarkan kepercayaan kepada Tuhan. Usaha ini adalah untuk menzahirkan warnegara Malaysia yang berilmu pengetahuan, berketerampilan, berakhlak mulia, bertanggungjawab dan berkeupayaan mencapai kesejahteraan diri serta memberikan sumbangan terhadap keharmonian dan kemakmuran negara, masyarakat dan negara.

Penyata Razak:

Tujuan Dasar Pelajaran di dalam negeri ini adalah bermaksud hendak menyatukan budak-budak daripada semua bangsa di dalam negeri ini dengan menggunakan bahasa kebangsaan sebagai bahasa pengatar yang besar, walaupun perkara ini tiada dapat dilaksanakan dengan serta-merta melainkan hendaklah diperbuat dengan beransur-ansur.

(Penyata Razak, perenggan 12)

National Education System and Categories of educational institutions are well defined under Section 15 and Section 16 respectively under Act 1996

Under Education Act 1961, the National Education System is only defined as:

For the purpose of this act, the stages of statutory education system shall be as follows:

Primary education

Lower secondary education

Upper secondary education

Status of the National Language (Bahasa Melayu)

The provision of Section 17 of Act 1996 is comprehensive to include all schools except the national-type:

Section 17 (1) The National language shall be the main medium of instruction in all educational institutions in the National Education System except an national-type school established under Section 28 or any other education institution exempted by Minister from this section.

Bahasa kebangsaan adalah bahasa pengantar sekolah kebangsaan dan sekolah menengah kebangsaan sahaja

Akta Pendidikan 1961

National curriculum

Section 18 (1) The Minister shall prescribe a curriculum to be known as the National Curriculum which, subject to subsection (3), shall be used by all schools in the National Educational System.

In the Education Act 1961, there is no mention about this matter

Section 19 Schools to prepare pupils for prescribed examinationEvery school shall prepare pupils for examinations prescribed by or under this act or any regulations made under this act unless otherwise exempted by or under this actThere is no mention of this matter in Act 1961

Section 17 National language as the main medium of instruction(2) When the main medium of instruction in an educational institution is other than the national language, the national language shall be taught as a compulsory subject in the educational institutionIn Act 1961, the use of the National Language is only confined to government and government-aided schools only.

Section 16 Categories of educational institutionsThree categories of educational institutions:Government educational institutionsGovernment-aided educational institutionsPrivate educational institutionsEducation Act 1996Under Act 1961, educational institutions are divided into two categories namely, fully aided (bantuan penuh: kerajaan dan bukan milik kerajaan) dan private (swasta)

Section 22 Pre-school curriculum The programmes and activities of every kindergarten shall

be based on the curriculum guidelines for kindergartens approved by the Minister

Act 1996 Under the Act 1961, such guideline is not compulsory for

kindergartens.

Section Duration of Primary Education A national or national-type school established under this act

shall provide a course of primary education designed for a duration of six years but which may be completed within five to seven years.

Act 1996 (Sec. 2) Under Act 1961, National primary school, or sekolah

kebangsaan, means a fully assisted primary school providing a six-year course of primary education appropriate for children between the ages of six and eleven years.

Section 33 Post-secondary education Such term is more accommodative to include form six, matriculation,

and etc. Under Act 1961, the definition for secondary education is not that clear Section 37 Collaboration with other institutions and industrial

organizations in technical and vocational education Section 47 Provision to courses of study in respect of degrees, etc.

conferred by universities etc. Under Act 1961, there is no mention of such provision

Section 40 Minister to provide special education

Act 1996

Under Act 1961, such provision is not clear.

Section 50 Teaching of the Islamic Religion

(1) Where in an educational institution there are five or more pupils professing the Islamic religion, such pupils shall be given religious teaching in Islamic by teachers approved by the State Authority

Under Act 1961, Islamic education is only compulsory when there are 15 students in fully-aided and government-aided schools