La actividad física como actividad saludable

ECCE in Malaysia is very progressive mainly because the government has focused and place great effort in ensuring education and care for all children (MEB, 2013). This can be manifested through effort from the local communities, religious bodies, private entities and also charitable organisations as well as the increased funding on ECCE by the government. The MOE has taken initiatives to ensure the quality provision of ECCE particularly through the signing of Convention on the Rights of the Children (CRC), the enactment of Child Act and the inclusion preschool education (4-6 years old) as part of the formal education system through the Education Act 1996 (Boon, 2015).

ECCE in Malaysia is divided into two age groups. For the children between 0-4 years old, the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (MWFCD) is the main co-ordinator for national programmes regarding the growth and development of the children through its Department of Social Welfare. One of the major roles of MWFCD is to register all childcare centres (TASKA) that offers care and education for children between 0-4 years old. Similarly, the Prime Minister Department launched PERMATA programme in 2007 which offers integrated quality care and early education services based on the needs of the local community in rural and sub urban areas to children below 4 years old. As for the children between 4-6 years old, MOE, Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (MRRD) and Department of National Unity and Integration (DNUI) are responsible in providing preschool education (TADIKA) for all the children.

2.3.1 Preschool provisions in Malaysia

Preschool education in Malaysia began in the 1950s and 1960s set up by Christian

missionaries, individuals and private sectors. They organised preschool education at a time when it was considered as exclusive and unaffordable. In 1969, Asia Foundation contributed finances to the Malaysian Workers Association to introduce a preschool project. This

programme was further expanded by MRRD through Department of Community

Development. In 1970, MRRD established preschools which are locally known as KEMAS preschools. KEMAS is generally targeted for the low income families and located in rural and

suburban areas and set up based on request by the local community (Boon, 2015). In 1976, the DNUI set up preschools called PERPADUAN preschools in the urban areas (under Friendly Neighbourhood Scheme- Rukun Tetangga). These preschools focus on unity where the children are from various racial background and parents form the board of governance. Following that, the MOE set up an annex preschool in 1992 which was further expanded to 9195 classes in 2016 (MOE, 2016). The data is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Number of MOE preschools, classes, teachers and enrolment in 2014-2016, Educational Planning and Research Division, 2016

2014 2015 2016

Preschools 5,943 6,056 6,075

Classes 8,939 9,113 9,195

Teachers 8,586 9,039 9,087

Enrolment 194,225 198,574 200,522

In 2000, preschool for children with SEN under the Special Education Integrated Programme (SEIP) was established by the MOE and as of 2016, there are 168 SEIP preschool classes (MOE, 2016). The data shown in Table 2 indicates the government’s effort to increase access to preschool children with SEN.

Table 2. Number of SEIP classes, enrolment and teachers in 2014-2016 (Educational Planning and Research Division, 2016)

2014 2015 2016

Preschool Preschool Preschool

Class 142 165 168

Enrolment 517 656 678

Teacher 191 163 168

Table 3 shows that there are also other organisations which provide preschool education such as the State Religious Department (JAIN) and Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) which cater for Muslim community. Private preschools are operated by private sectors and use a range of medium of instruction including Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese, Tamil and English. There are no fees for preschool by the MOE but very minimum charges for KEMAS, PERPADUAN, JAIN and ABIM preschools. For private preschools the fee ranges from RM100-RM1000 which is equivalent to £60-£600 monthly. All of the preschools in Malaysia are required to utilise National Standard Preschool Curriculum, however, private preschools can offer additional programmes upon approval from the MOE.

Table 3. Number of preschools, classes, teachers and enrolment in private and other government agencies in 2016 (Educational Planning and Research Division, 2016)

Agency Preschools Classes Teachers Enrolment

ABIM 222 547 634 8,720 JAIN 736 1,584 2,123 32,604 PERPADUAN 1,781 1,781 3,481 37,446 KEMAS 8,604 11,183 11,016 219,429

Private

7,238

27,141

27,180

236,234

2.3.2 Preschool teacher education in Malaysia

There are two different types of teacher training for government preschool teachers in Malaysia. First, all teachers employed in the preschools run by the MOE are trained and certified with at least a diploma in teaching, trained by MOE through the Institute of Teacher Education (ITEs) all over Malaysia. Second, there are teachers who are trained by public universities such as University of Malaya, National University of Malaysia, University of Science Malaysia, Sultan Idris Education University and Open University of Malaysia. Some of the teachers in government preschools have a degree and a master’s degree in early childhood education. Meanwhile, preschool teachers in KEMAS preschools received a six-month training and PERPADUAN preschool teachers underwent a three-week training by their own ministries (MRRD and DNUI).

In order to improve the quality of preschool teachers, 20,150 teachers from PERPADUAN, KEMAS and private preschools attended a three-week course provided by ITE all over

Malaysia and other private accredited training institutions during the school holidays sponsored by the government (from 2010-2012). PERPADUAN and KEMAS also encourage their

teachers who are fully sponsored, to continue their studies at diploma level at ITEs or Sultan Idris Education University. ITEs in particular, offer courses such as Diploma in Teaching for Preschool (three years in full-time), Post-degree course (a year for conversion), Degree in Early Childhood Education (4 years) and In-service training (14 weeks or one year part-time). At the same time, public universities also produce graduates and post-graduates with first degree’s, master‘s degrees or PhD’s in preschool education or early childhood education. MOE also awards scholarships or study leave for eligible teachers to pursue their studies (ECCE Policy Review, 2008).

In addition, there is a non-profit organisation, the Malaysian Association of Kindergartens (PTM) that conducts courses for private preschool teachers. PTM conducts in-service courses on ‘Skill Training for Preschool Teachers’ during school holidays. Those who have completed the course are awarded an attendance certificate. In order to enhance the teachers’ knowledge and create better career pathways to the teachers in private preschools, ECCE Training Centre Cluster was set up to train 218,500 teachers by 2020. This three-week course is opened to in- service registered private preschool teachers and run by private institution such as SEGi University.

Preschool teacher education in Malaysia has indeed progressive and in high demand. Many preschool teachers have undergone teacher training from various providers such as ITE, local universities, private institutions and NGOs. Indeed, the MOE has recognised ECCE as a pivotal key in nation building by increasing the number of preschool classes to ensure all children in Malaysia received a meaningful preschool education experience.