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Email: edu@mepc.com.my

Education is the responsibility of the federal government. The national education system encompasses education beginning from pre-school to university.

Primary and Secondary Education Primary education (a period of 6 years) and secondary education (5 years which encompasses 3 years of lower secondary and 2 years of upper secondary) are free. The admission age to the first year of primary education is 7. Primary schooling is mandatory for all children between the ages of 7 to 12. Students sit for common public examinations at the end of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary levels.

Upon completion of secondary education, students can opt to pursue 1 to 2 years of post-secondary education, which is the university entrance preparatory course.

Tertiary Education
Tertiary or higher education in both the academic and professional fields are provided by public universities, colleges as well as private institutions of higher learning.

Tertiary education consists of two major components

• Public (government funded) institutions of higher learning, for example, public universities, public university colleges, polytechnics and teacher training colleges.
• Private (private funded) higher educational institutions, for example, private universities, private university colleges, branch campuses of foreign universities and private colleges.

Private education is the education provided to students by the private educational institutions. The private educational institutions offer pre-school, primary, secondary, to post-secondary education as well as tertiary education leading to the awards of certificate, diploma and degree qualifications. The private higher educational institutions (PHEIs), comprising of private colleges, private universities and foreign university branch campuses, play a significant role in fulfilling the needs of tertiary or higher education for the local as well as foreign students. The PHEIs provide a wide range of international rated internal qualification programmes, foreign university awarded degree programmes, professional and semi-professional courses as well as English courses. The PHEIs also offer a wide range of choices for courses with various modes of study for selection. To ensure quality education and to safeguard the interests of the public and students, all PHEIs are required to register with and be approved by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia. In addition, the National Accreditation Board (NAB), established under The National Accreditation Board Act 1996 by the Government as a national quality assurance agency is responsible for governing the standard and quality of higher education provided by the PHEIs. It ensures that the education provided is of an international standard which will benefit students immensely.