Education is vital for the growth of a country.

It drives a country towards good

economy and social well-being. Being a major investment in human capital development,
education is vital in long-term productivity and growth at both micro and macro levels
(Kingdom, 2013). Realizing the fact that education is the core element in generating a better
nation, Malaysia is constantly and continuously putting great emphasis on education. The
Malaysian government and Ministry of Education are actively making efforts to democratise
the local education system. Basically, democratisation of education is giving every individual
the rights and opportunity to obtain equal, quality education. According to Duru-Bellat (2005),
democratisation of education is seen as an obvious way to lessen social inequalities of
opportunities in life. All the efforts taken by the relevant authorities in Malaysia are towards
realizing the nations aspirations and goals as envisioned in Vision 2020. Hence, this essay
will further discuss about the efforts undertaken by the Malaysian government and Ministry
of Education towards democratisation of education, along with some of their shortcomings
and recommendations which can be considered to resolve them.
Firstly, the Malaysian authorities have taken the measures to reduce the costs of
school attendance. In other words, it is to cut down on the costs which students have to pay
in order to study in schools. To ensure the quality of education is upheld, Ministry of
Education has provided support services to students in primary and secondary school such
as scholarship, textbook loan scheme, nutrition and health program, supplementary food
scheme and counselling services in school (Kamarulzaman, 2007). For example, students
need not pay for schooling fees and costs of materials. In the past, students had to pay for
the yearly schooling fees. As some of the poor and needy students were unable to pay the
fees, they had to resort to helping out their parents with work and not attending school.
Some families were unable to afford to send their children to school for education because of
their restricted financial status. Realizing this, the government made it that all schooling fees
and costs of materials would be managed by them. Therefore, this actually encouraged
more students to attend school for education, no matter their social status and background.
Apart from that, the government decided to further help in terms of education by having the
textbook loan scheme, or also commonly known as Skim Pinjaman Buku Teks (SPBT). In
the past, SPBT was only for the needy students who could not afford to buy textbooks, as
they were quite costly. Over the years, SPBT was applied to all students, whereby students
no longer need to purchase textbooks. The textbook on-loan scheme covers both primary
and secondary school levels and in 2007, the scheme is offered to all students regardless of
their family social-economic status (Kamarulzaman, 2007). It helped the community greatly
because the cost of textbooks for one student can be quite high as there are several
subjects. In families whereby students have many siblings, it would be a huge burden for the

parents to buy textbooks for them. In addition, besides the complimentary schooling fees
and textbook loan scheme, the government also took the step to help the poor students by
providing them food. The programme refers to Rancangan Makanan Tambahan (RMT),
whereby the selected needy students will get complimentary food in the morning and also
during recess. In 2004, RM153.1 million was spent on this scheme (Ministry of Education,
2005). This effort further aided the students in the name of democratisation of education as
students under the RMT programme are provided with healthy food to ensure they are able
to study in school without an empty stomach. Without proper breakfast and food during
recess, students will often have difficulty focusing in class. Hence, all these efforts taken by
the authorities in terms of reducing costs of school attendance are inclined towards
democratisation of education.
Next, another effort by the authorities towards democratisation of education was in
terms of infrastructure and facilities. Over the years, the constructions of new school hostels
were carried out to provide hostel facilities for students in schools especially in boarding
schools. This effort is aimed towards providing conducive and quality accommodation for
students especially those who are staying quite a distance from schools. At the same time,
old schools are also constantly being replaced. Old school buildings are repaired and
refurbished to ensure that school communities have comfortable places to study in. It was
also to ensure the safety of school communities is safeguarded, as schools are supposed to
be safe places for the students to study without any worries. In terms of facilities, schools are
provided with various types of teaching aids and laboratory equipment. They are essential to
ensure that lessons planned by the teachers can be carried out without any shortage of
teaching aid and equipment. Therefore, the quality of teaching-learning process in schools
will be maintained and upheld. Facilities play pivotal role in the actualization of the
educational goals and objectives by fulfilling the physical and emotional needs of the
students in schools (Asiabaka, 2008). However, despite the continuous effort of maintaining
infrastructure and facilities in schools, there is a shortcoming to it. This effort is mainly
focused on urban schools, but less in rural areas. Schools in rural areas are lacking
especially in terms of hostels for students. In East Malaysia, a large number of school
students in the rural areas will need to travel for several hours just to attend schools, which
is a disheartening situation. The students efforts and motivation to attend school do not fade
despite having to travel through hilly areas and the woods every day, just to learn from their
teachers waiting in schools. As a recommendation, instead of focusing infrastructure and
facilities maintenance in urban schools which are still in decent condition, more hostels can
be built and provided in the rural schools. This will greatly ease the burden of the students of
having to travel several hours for several kilometres just to attend school. Only then

democratisation of education will further be accomplished in terms of accommodation for

students in the rural areas.
Besides that, the authorities are carrying out efforts towards democratisation of
education by promoting and maintain national unity through educational plans and
programmes. In Malaysian context, the community comprises of various ethnic groups who
have been living together harmoniously for many decades. It is a unique aspect of the
country which must be preserved. Realizing this, the authorities are taking steps to uphold
the element of national unity, which begins in schools whereby young students are first
exposed to unity. For instance, the Rancangan Integrasi Murid Untuk Perpaduan (RIMUP)
programme has been carried out to instil the value of respect and unity among students
through combined programmes involving several schools in a district. RIMUP allows
students from various origins and backgrounds to mingle with one another through fun and
integrative activities. The ongoing Rancangan Integrasi Murid Untuk Perpaduan (RIMUP)
will contribute positively to more cohesiveness in school (Siti, 2014). As students accomplish
the activities by helping out one another, a sense of respect and unity can be instilled among
students. This is essential to ensure that the Malaysian community lives together in a healthy
and harmonious atmosphere without any sense of prejudice towards one another. Despite
the programmes effectiveness in promoting national unity among students, the effect is
usually temporary. The problem of temporary awareness occurs when students no longer
get involved in national unity programmes in the near future as RIMUP programme is usually
held once a year. Thus, as a recommendation to cope with the situation, authorities can
make the programmes focusing on national unity more meaningful and memorable through
activities which really focus on the importance of unity among students of various origins. In
other words, activities which are more impactful and can create long-lasting experiences of
national unity among students are a must. In conjunction with that, continuous efforts by the
authorities to promote national unity must also be done as the current RIMUP programme is
only held once a year with only a small group of selected students as the participants.
Therefore, the programme needs to be conducted at a larger scale to ensure students are
able to truly appreciate the significance and importance of national unity. Hence, the
students are all able to unite as one.
Furthermore, the authorities have been carrying out efforts towards democratisation
of education by increasing the number of trained teachers for schools in rural areas. As
democratisation of education pertains to equality in education, schools in rural areas must
also be able to provide quality education to students similar to that in urban schools. This
can be accomplished by having trained teachers in rural schools to educate the students and
open their minds that they too can succeed in education because everyone is equal and

unique. The authorities have been ensuring that commendable and dedicated teachers
trained from Teacher Training programme or locally known as Program Ijazah Sarjana Muda
Perguruan (PISMP) are also placed in rural schools to provide quality education for students
in rural areas. It is seen that teachers are not only one of the variables which need to be
transformed in order to enhance the educational system but are also the most significant
agents in educational reform, as quality teachers are the determinants of student
achievement (Hazri, Nordin, Reena and Abdul, 2011).Hence, these properly trained teachers
are able to bring the essence of 21st century learning to rural schools to be exposed to the
students there. These students will not be left behind in terms of contemporary knowledge
and skills they need to possess, so as to cope with the rapid process of modernization. The
professionally trained teachers are able to lead students to success in education by applying
and implementing various types of teaching approaches to suit the needs of the students. As
some students in certain rural areas can be rather passive and shy, the teachers who are
equipped with sound knowledge of pedagogical skills and content can help them by
engaging them in fun and meaningful activities of the 21 st century. Therefore, the authorities
have been giving great emphasis on this aspect of increasing the number of trained teachers
for schools in rural areas towards achieving democratisation of education. Nevertheless,
there is a shortcoming to this great effort. Lately, there are issues pertaining to unwillingness
of teachers to teach in rural areas, as they can prove to be of great challenge to the
teachers. Not many teachers are willing to volunteer to provide their service in rural areas
because they tend to prefer the urban schools because facilities are more easily available in
urban areas. Most of them are also less willing to teach in rural areas especially the ones far
away from their

hometowns because

of

family commitments. Therefore,

as a

recommendation to this issue, it will be a win-win situation for the authorities to place as
many teachers as possible in schools according to their selected states or hometowns.
Through this way, teachers are more willing to teach and dedicate their full commitment to
the teaching process instead of having to worry about transferring to another school. At the
same time, the government can save up in terms of cost which is used as incentives for
teachers who teach in rural schools, especially in East Malaysia. The funds saved can in
turn be used to provide more quality facilities in the rural schools, especially hostels for
accommodation purposes for students who have to travel very far to attend schools.
Last but not least, the authorities are also making efforts towards democratisation of
education by providing equal education opportunities for all. In this context, equal education
is provided to the minority groups and special needs students as well. For example, in the
local context, there are Orang Asli or the indigenous people in certain states especially in the
rural areas. They are not excluded from the list in obtaining quality education, because they

are also a part of the Malaysian community who deserve equal opportunities. The same
goes to the special needs students, such as those with autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD) and students with impairments because everyone is to be treated equally.
The authorities have been ensuring that both the indigenous people and special needs
students have adequate access to complete, free and compulsory education. Department of
Special Education Program, an agency under the Ministry of Education, have provided
educational opportunities and facilities for children with learning disabilities as they are
placed in the most enabling environment such as Special School for Visually, Special School
for Hearing Impaired, Consolidated Class Program and Inclusive Education Program
(Ministry of Education, 2005). As they are part of the community and also the future
generation of the nation, they must not be denied the access to education because they also
have the rights to have a brighter future. Therefore, this effort taken by the authorities are
essential in accomplishing democratisation of education.
In conclusion, it is undeniable that the authorities play significant and vital roles
towards democratisation of education. Through continuous efforts and initiatives, the young
generation will be able to obtain quality education which in turn leads to a productive future
generation. They are the ones who will eventually lead and run the country towards success.
Therefore, with quality education, the countrys economy and overall stability will increase
greatly with the production of commendable human capital.

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