Private learning centres teach international curriculums but can be 20-30% cheaper than private and international schools, making them attractive to parents who are trying to save money.
A new report into the trend found that the learning centres are favourable to students and parents instead of schools, as the former offers a variable timetable with some between the hours of 9am-5pm.
They also include international curriculums, such as the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and Cambridge primary education, extra activities ranging from hip hop classes to drama and vocal training, and no uniform.
However, some of the learning centres may not be licenced, prompting the Malaysian Government to advise parents to be cautious of the registration status of such centres to avoid difficulties in the future.
The English Daily reported among some of the moves that would impact students enrolled in such centres included the Ministry not endorsing any certificate received from the unregistered institutions.
“This is a compulsory requirement by the Foreign Affairs Ministry for any students to go abroad,” the Ministry told the English Daily.
The report said while the Ministry does not have the exact figure of how many illegal centres are operational at present, many complaints have been made on such institutions and inspections have been conducted.
“We have noticed an increasing numbers of complaints about these centres,” the English Daily quoted the Ministry, adding that such institutions would be subjected to penalties according to the law.
The Education Ministry has meanwhile urged private educational centres to be registered in accordance to the guidelines and terms, saying institutions that wish to run international courses such as IGCSE should have themselves registered as an international school.
“We will not approve any educational centres to run international curriculum in other settings,” the Ministry said.
“As the number of private learning centres continues to grow, the institutions are open to discuss with the Ministry to resolve any issues.”
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