The private sector plays an important role in pre-tertiary education particularly at pre-school levels and actively offers pre-school, primary and secondary education in urban areas. The private sector or self- funded providers offer education to school-going children for a fee.

Private education is well-rooted in the Malaysian education system and the history of private education in Malaysia can be traced way back to the 1950s.

The types of Private Educational Institutions in Malaysia are:

Pre-schools / Kindergartens (covering a period of one to three years)

Private Primary Schools (covering a period of six years)

Private Secondary Schools (covering a period of five years)

Malaysian Independent Chinese Secondary Schools (covering a period of six years)

Foreign System Schools (International & Expatriate Schools)

Other Learning Centres

All private schools and foreign system schools need to obtain the approval of the Ministry of Education, through its Division of Private Education before they are allowed to operate and recruit students.

(a) Pre-schools / Kindergarten

(covering a period of one to three years)

Private pre-schools or kindergartens are designed for children between the age of four and six for an education period of one to three years. There are many private pre-school centres in Malaysia, particularly in the urban areas. They offer a range of early childhood programmes at a fee. These programmes are designed to meet the diverse needs of young children during the most crucial years of their life.

Pre-school education is part of the National Education System, and the roles of operators in early childhood education are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education. All kindergartens are required to follow the National Preschool Curriculum introduced by the government.

(b) Private Primary Schools (covering a period of six years)

Private primary schools in Malaysia offer primary schooling (Standard 1 to Standard 6) to the more affluent segment of the Malaysian society.