Education in Penang

This articles concerns the educational institutions of Penang.

English Schools

Penang boasts of a good system of education stretching back to the early days of the British administration. Many of the public schools in Penang are among the oldest in the country and even in the region as a whole. Most notable of these are:

* Penang Free School, the oldest English school in the country Fact|date=February 2007. It is believed to be the oldest in the whole of Asia and the Mediterranean Fact|date=February 2007. This is the former school of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the nation’s founding Prime Minister, a Perlis Ruler, the legendary Malaysian actor/singer Tan Sri P.Ramlee, the present king, as well as numerous great personalities of the nation (founded in 1816 by Anglican missionaries);

* St. Xavier's Institution, also one of the oldest and most established schools in Malaysia that is at the forefront of the Malaysian education scene, both academically and co-curricularly.

* Convent Light Street, also the oldest girls`school in Penang compare with St.Xavier`s Institution

These pioneer schools formed the backbone of Malaysia’s early education system which has educated generations of rulers, prime ministers, chief ministers, lawmakers, politicians, professionals and people of social standing.

Chinese schools

Penang chinese school has also long been the centre of a well-developed schooling system. These schools were set up by local Chinese associations with donations from philanthropists, and have historically attracted students from Chinese communities in Thailand and Indonesia, where Chinese education was banned.

* Chung Ling High School, (founded 9 Feb 1917) the alma mater of Penang's present Chief Minister, Singapore's Minister of Health and one of the key education institutions that help built the nation and the region of South East Asia.

* Penang Chinese Girls' High School,founded by four prominent members of the Hokkien community, Mr Tan Sin Chen, Mr Lim Lu Teck, Mr Khor Sen Lee and Mr Cheah Seng Tin on 8th March 1920.

* Jit Sin School, is founded by an organization, Fu De Zheng Shen, in 1818. Later, the school has developed into the Jit Sin Primary School - A and B school, Jit Sin High School, Jit Sin (Private) High School and Jit Sin Kindergarten.

* Chung Hwa Confucian School (founded 1904) is one of the oldest formal Chinese Schools in Malaysia and is the first to use Mandarin as the medium of instruction instead of the Chinese dialects.

*Phor Tay High School, {founded 1940} is the first Buddhism's school in Malaysia.

* Jit Sin High School started in 1949 and shared the same history of Jit Sin School. They have set the benchmark for all government examinations - PMR, SPM & STPM, and all kinds of inter-school competitions, especially Chinese Orchestra.

* Convent Datuk Keramat, started in 1935, is a Primary/Secondary all-girls Chinese school.

Other Chinese schools include Penang Heng Ee High School and Penang Union Girls' High School

International schools

Penang also has five international schools to meet the needs of the expatriate community. These are Dalat International School, the International School of Penang (Uplands), St. Christopher's International Primary School, Tenby International School and Fairview International School.

Tertiary Education

Penang is home to the Universiti Sains Malaysia (popular acronym USM), established in 1969, the second oldest university in Malaysia after the University of Malaya. Its main campus is situated in Gelugor while its engineering campus is located in Seri Ampangan in Province Wellesley. The university’s medical faculty is in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan on the east coast. With 35 000 students in 2005, USM is the biggest university in terms of enrolment in Malaysia. In March 2006 USM is also earmarked as one of four research-intensive universities in Malaysia. Within the expansive and undulating university grounds can be found lakes, hillocks, and swathes of trees, making it a very ‘green’ university.

SEAMEO RECSAM, which is short for "South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization- Regional Centre for Education in Science and Mathematics", is located in Gelugor. It serves as a research and training facility for the enhancement of the education of science and mathematics in South East Asia. Sharing the campus grounds is the Malaysian Teachers' College. The other teachers' training college being the Tuanku Bainun Teachers' College in Bukit Mertajam.

[IPG College] now know as PTPL Penang is the first college in Penang established by Malaysia first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and his very good friend Mr K L Goon in the year 1981. Ever since then, IPG College has been the college of choice and has produce more than 300 World and Malaysia awards winners.

Penang is known as a regional education hub which attracts students from foreign countries due to its quality education and affordable tuition fees.

Private Colleges

Although it has been an important centre of education, Penang is one of the states in Malaysia that suffers from brain drain. The Malaysian New Economic Plan has been criticised by many people to be one of the key contributors to this social effect. However, this is not the only factor. University graduates do not have much opportunity to experience cutting-edge technologies in many areas of industry, from hard sciences (e.g. nanotechnology, grid computing, algorithmic research etc.) to high finance (e.g. risk management etc.) to global corporate management.

ee also

* Penang
* Malaysia