One factor that contributes to education inequality in Malaysia comes from the socio-economic gap of students, whether they come from rural or urban settings. Often, disadvantaged students lag because of their parents’ inability to offer them the extra tuition or to pay for them to continue with their tertiary education.
The reason why many students need extra tuition is that the system of education is exam and result-oriented and is based on memorization rather than on an analysis-based system which would encourage critical thinking and leadership.
Some students often enrol to do courses at public tertiary institutions that they are not interested in, leading to high drop-out rates for this particular group.
In general, the education system in Malaysia tends to class students according to their grades. This marginalization of students with lower academic credentials could be the major contributor to the inequality in the education system.
A good education system should be able to identify the talents of these students and to ensure that these are cultivated for them to become constructive and skilled members of society, instead of them being neglected until they abandon the education system altogether, usually in secondary school.
Education inequality is directly linked to poorer economic growth, and even though Malaysia has made great steps in addressing these issues, there is still much that can be done to remedy the inequality.
Students from poorer backgrounds need to be supported financially and need to be made aware that there are scholarships and grants available to them. The education system also needs to move away from memorisation and to concentrate on giving students the critical skills needed by employers today.
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