Status of Education in Malaysia
Malaysia's high literacy rate of 91.5 percent (men: 94 percent, women 89 percent) masks much lower rates among remote communities and ethnic populations with fewer resources in this country of 25.3 million. Recent government reforms require that math and science be taught in English in secondary school, making English language texts in these subject areas especially needed.
Current Focus
Books for Asia donates nearly 20,000 brand new books donated by American publishers annually to 428 primary and secondary schools in remote or underserved communities in Malaysia. Special emphasis is given to secondary schools in Sabah and Sarawak, primary school children of plantation laborers in peninsular Malaysia, and pupils in Muslim boarding schools. English books and teaching materials are also provided to 14 regional teaching resource centers.
Read more about The Asia Foundation's work in Malaysia.
Project and Partner Highlights
Secondary Schools in East Malaysia. Four hundred miles of South China
Sea separate the two largest East Malaysian states, Sabah and Sarawak,
from the rest of the country on the Malaysian peninsula. East
Malaysians lag behind their peninsular counterparts in education,
economic development, and health services. Books for Asia focuses on
reaching schools that suffer from the lowest literacy rates and where
some communities are only accessible by river boat.
Major publisher donors: McGraw Hill, Lynne Rienner, Pearson, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Contact
Vasantha Charles
Books for Asia
vasantha@asiafound.org