Looking to enrol your child at an International School in Malaysia - what you need to know

GIIS communications team
Jun 21, 2021
Admission Tips

Investing in a good education is one of the most important stakes in life, as it determines the individual’s growth, thought processes that eventually affect their behaviour. It also leads them to build a credible pathway that affects their future aspirations, careers and goals. 

However, education can also be an expensive investment that takes a toll on the parent as well as the child, especially when it becomes difficult to choose a good international school, as it has the potential to burn a hole in your pocket and has the power to make a resourceful difference in the lives of the children. 

Although, as a student in Malaysia, it is not impossible to find an effective solution to finance when it comes to education and there are numerous financial aid programmes for students who come from families across a wide spectrum of financial backgrounds. There are several schemes introduced through government bodies as well as educational institutions to help these students.

How are these financial aids helpful?

They can either partially or fully cover overall expenses that are related to the child’s education. Both the Government of Malaysia as well as the schools and other educational institutions offer different types of functional scholarships for local as well as international students. These scholarships are in the form of multiple Bursaries, Grants, Educational funds, Tuition waivers and loans. 

These scholarships go a really long way for students like receiving invitations from top universities around the world, who put in their 100% into constructive learning through dedication and productive determination. The recipients of these scholarships are chosen in a way that they see the potential and what they can achieve for their future selves and help optimally impact the country they reside in.

Why choose to study in Malaysia?

Premium Education

Malaysia offers premium education standards to its citizens as well as to people of different nationalities who have settled there. The nation has become a favourite hotspot for several professionals and families who have travelled to attain a better living standard and also to enrol their children into the likes of the Malay style of education, or for those who are simply in awe of the country. 

Global Exposure

The nation is bustling with an enormous number of expatriate families with more than 100,000 international students of vivid nationalities that come from over 150 countries worldwide. The educational institutions in Malaysia are soon turning to come under top two hundred universities and schools throughout the globe.  

Long Term Vision

The country has a rapidly improving higher quality education which has great systems to impart knowledge into their students. Malaysia has substantially increased the provisions and facilities that are needed for students of different countries to thrive. The education standards are closely monitored by the Ministry of Higher Education, which has the vision to turn Malaysia into a Centre of Excellence for Higher Education.

Parents and Students are increasingly opting for International schools in Malaysia. Why is that the case scenario?

People are noticing that more and more parents want to enrol their children in an International School in Malaysia. In the beginning, these schools were set up to cater to the rapidly growing expatriate community that settled in Malaysia. Nowadays, the local residents are also opting to admit their children into international schools as they see a major difference in the quality of education International schools provide.

 

According to an article published by Relocate Global, the number of schools with an English medium of instruction has increased by 75% since 2012, with an increase in student enrolment by a whopping 87%. In addition to these statistics, 50% of the students in these International schools are now local Malaysian students. 

International Schools focus on the students’ all-round holistic growth education. These schools usually have a low student to teacher ratio which helps the students to receive coaching one-on-one from their teachers. The student body in international schools is also very diverse, it teaches the students to socialise and empathise with students of different cultures and backgrounds.

What opportunities do students receive in international schools?

Extra Curricular Activities

The students have the opportunity to get involved with a huge variation of extra-curricular activities because a lot of these International schools have state of the art facilities and equipment.  

Personal Development

Such international schools usually try to provide a more hands-on approach to learning with a focus on personal development by encouraging students to think creatively and explore their areas of innovative ideas, this encourages the children to help develop their personal identities. Thus, proving to provide better tools in helping students develop into well-rounded adults who can carry themselves very well in real-life situations.

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Diverse Cultural Exposure

Most of the students attending an international school grow up to be multilingual, as they tend to learn more than one language, that of  their mother-tongue. The education programme in Malaysia has equipped many of their students to join the leading universities across the globe and get excellent grades. The international schools present in the country provide an opportunity to students of many cultures to study together and build a spirit of collaboration.

Diversified Curriculums that are internationally recognised

Schools that are public owned have a standardised national curriculum where all students are able to only take the same repetitive course subjects and electives. Students are allowed to choose two disciplines, being arts or science streams- particularly where STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects have more emphasis placed on them. 

Benefits of a Private International School

In a Private owned International school in Malaysia, there are varied curriculums to choose from which belong to several nationalities. Most of these international schools have English as their language of instruction, which is easier to learn and understand, as well as communicate with others. The benefit of these curricula is that most of them are also available worldwide, so it’s easier to take a transfer into an international school of another country. 

These curriculums differ from local systems by offering a diverse range of subjects for the arts and humanities streams as well, which is usually not available in public schools. These subjects are inclusive of fine arts, music, literature and drama.

There are International schools in Malaysia of different origins and national boards including Nationalities of Chinese, Indian, Canadian, British, American, French, German and many more. The different types of curricula include:-

● CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education)

● IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education)

● A-Levels (Advanced Level Qualifications)

● IB (International Baccalaureate)

● GMP (Global Montessori Programme), etc.

Students enrolled in one of these programmes have proven statistically to do better than their counterparts in public schools. One of the main reasons for this is the personal attention and guidance that each student is able to receive from their teachers. This is empowered by good management in international schools of Malaysia.

Being one of the best international schools in Kuala Lumpur, GIIS has been at the forefront of preferences by many parents and students looking for cost effective international schools. The types of scholarships provided by GIIS to deserving students are:-

Tunku Abdul Rahman Universal Values merit cum means scholarship

The Global Citizenship Scholarship

9GEMS Holistic Development Scholarship

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Global Skills Scholarship

Global FUTURE-READY Merit Scholarship 

Conclusion

International schools in Malaysia are at the forefront of modern education and they help their students to thrive and grow into global responsible citizens.


GIIS communications team

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