Education in Penang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This articles concerns the educational institutions of Penang.
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[edit] English Schools
Penang boasts of a good system of education stretching back to the early days of the British administration. Many of the public schools in Penang are among the oldest in the country and even in the region as a whole. Most notable of these are:
- Penang Free School, the oldest English school in the country [citation needed]. It is believed to be the oldest in the whole of Asia and the Mediterranean [citation needed]. This is the former school of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the nation’s founding Prime Minister, a Perlis Ruler, the present king, as well as numerous great personalities of the nation (founded in 1816 by Anglican missionaries);
- St Xavier's Institution (founded 1825);
- Methodist Boys’ School, Penang (founded 1891), the pre-University alma mater of Penang’s present Chief Minister as well as the Prime Minister;
- Convent Light Street, the first girls’ school in the region,
- St George’s Girls School
These pioneer schools formed the backbone of Malaysia’s early education system which has educated generations of rulers, prime ministers, chief ministers, lawmakers, politicians, professionals and people of social standing.
[edit] Chinese schools
Penang has also long been the centre of a well-developed Chinese private schooling system. These schools were set up by local Chinese associations with donations from wealthy philanthropists, and have historically attracted students from Chinese communities in Thailand and Indonesia, where Chinese education was banned. Many Chinese schools today are financed by the government, even though many of these schools do not allow or encourage the enrolment of non-Chinese students. There are currently none or few non-Chinese in their enrolment of alumni. This shows the liberal nature of the Malaysian Government towards education unlike their Thai and Indonesian counterparts. This fact cannot accepted by the Penang Chinese population and politicians.For example the government financed school Phor Tay High School has very few or no Buddhist or Taoist students and no Malay or Indian students or alumni members. Chung Ling High School due to its strict "meritocracy" regulation has practically no non-Chinese students coming from the opposite Malay village - Kampung Baru.
- Chung Hwa Confucian School (founded 1904) is one of the oldest formal Chinese Schools in Malaysia and is the first to use Mandarin as the medium of instruction instead of the Chinese dialects.
- Phor Tay High School,{founded 1940} is the first Buddhism's school in Malaysia.
- Chung Ling High School, (founded 9 Feb 1917) the alma mater of Penang's present Chief Minister, Singapore's Minister of Health and one of the key education institutions that help built the nation and the region of South East Asia.
Other Chinese schools include Jit Sin High School and Penang Chinese Girls' High School.
[edit] International schools
Penang also has two international schools to meet the needs of the expatriate community. These are Dalat International School and the International School of Penang (Uplands).
[edit] Tertiary Education
Penang is home to the Universiti Sains Malaysia (popular acronym USM), established in 1969, the second oldest university in Malaysia after the University of Malaya. Its main campus is situated in Gelugor while its engineering campus is located in Seri Ampangan in Province Wellesley. The university’s medical faculty is in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan on the east coast. With 35 000 students in 2005, USM is the biggest university in terms of enrolment in Malaysia. In March 2006 USM is also earmarked as one of four research-intensive universities in Malaysia. Within the expansive and undulating university grounds can be found lakes, hillocks, and swathes of trees, making it a very ‘green’ university.
SEAMEO RECSAM, which is short for South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization- Regional Centre for Education in Science and Mathematics, is located in Gelugor. It serves as a research and training facility for the enhancement of the education of science and mathematics in South East Asia. Sharing the campus grounds is the Malaysian Teachers' College. The other teachers' training college being the Tuanku Bainun Teachers' College in Bukit Mertajam.
Penang is known as a regional education hub which attracts students from foreign countries due to its quality education and affordable tuition fees.
[edit] Private Colleges
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Although it has been an important centre of education, Penang is one of the states in Malaysia that suffers from brain drain. The Malaysian New Economic Plan has been criticised by many people to be one of the key contributors to this social effect. However, this is not the only factor. University graduates do not have much opportunity to experience cutting-edge technologies in many areas of industry, from hard sciences (e.g. nanotechnology, grid computing, algorithmic research etc.) to high finance (e.g. risk management etc.) to global corporate management.
