Malaysia’s education system has come a long way since the country achieved independence in 1957. At that time, over half the population had no formal education and only 6% had completed secondary education.

Now, most Malaysians receive an education, and the quality of Malaysian students has risen over the years. Recently, however, there has been some slippage in the country’s international rankings. It seems that the systems used in some other countries produce better results, and there is concern because it seems Malaysian students’ performance has also declined in absolute terms.

The new blueprint will take 13 years to fully implement. A key factor is raising the quality of teachers and making teaching a more desirable and respected profession. For a start, all the country’s 70,000 English language teachers will have to pass an international English test – the Cambridge English Placement Test. This is to ensure that the standard of English improves because the Education Blueprint has set a goal of making all students proficient in both English and Bahasa Malaysia. Another key area of focus is ICT, and this initiative includes making sure all schools have internet access.