Vocational Education in Malaysia.

Industrial and Vocational Education appeared in

1897 when the British introduced the training for
Malay youths as mechanics and fitters to manage
the railway lines in Malaya
In 1906 the first public technical school was opened
to train technicians for government sectors
 In 1919, the government set up a committee to
review the needs for technical and industrial
education
In 1926, a Federal Trade School was established in
Kuala Lumpur to provide full-time, three-year
courses to train mechanics, fitters, machine
workers and other technicians.
The Education Department took over the school in
1931 to serve the needs of public departments as
well as business enterprises
 The comprehensive education and training was
introduced in 1965 and this gives an impact to the
vocational education scenario.
Later, 3 other trade schools were built in Penang, Ipoh
and Singapore to prepare apprentices as artisans in trades
In 1955, the government set up an Education Committee
to review the existing education system and to formulate
a new system for post-independence Malaya.
The committee published the Razak report in 1956
which promoted the policy of establishing a vocational
stream alongside the general secondary school system
 In 1960, the Rahman Talib Report led to the separation of
the secondary school system into academic and vocational
streams
The development of education in Malaysia change due to
the changes in economic, social, number of population,
technology and the needs of the education development
itself.
Technical and vocational education under the Ministry of
Education begins at the primary school level
At the primary level, students are introduced to the study
of pre-vocational subjects that cover various aspects of
manipulative skills.
 The upper secondary level (Form 4 and Form 5) is
the level where technical and vocational education
formally begins
The technical and vocational schools offer the same
core subjects as normal academic schools.
These cover several core subjects for the languages,
mathematics, and sciences along with selected
technical and vocational subjects from a group of
several different options that they are required to take
to
 Technical Vocational Skill Training
Stream Stream Stream
mechanical, Engineering Occupational
civil and Trades, courses
electrical Commerce,
engineering, Home
agriculture Economics
science & and
commerce Agriculture
subjects
 Currently there are 89 schools in operation with student
enrolments as shown below: (as at June 2003)
o Technical stream : 35,349 students
o Vocational stream : 26,806 students
o Skill Training stream : 4,794 students

The general entry requirement is the Lower Secondary

Assessment (PMR) certificate and the duration for this
stream is 2 years (Form 4 and Form 5).
 Upon completing 2 years of studies at this level, the
technical or vocational school students are required to sit for
the common public examination
However students from the Skill Training stream will sit for
Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia* (Malaysian Skill Certificate)
after which a government skill qualification is awarded for
Level 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5.