Schools in Penang

Schools in Penang (21 October 2016)


Schools in Penang have existed from the time the British landed in 1786. In the beginning, there were no formal classes, and in all likelihood, only the children of noblemen and government officers have any opportunity to attend. The Chinese community form their own schools to provide education and inculcate values. The first formal English school to open is the Penang Free School, in 1816, free in the sense that it was the first school open to all. In the following decades other schools open their doors to the masses, including convent schools established by Catholic nuns and the St Xavier's Institution by French and Belgian the missionaries of Jean Baptiste de la Salle.

Today, all these Penang schools have been brought into the national school system with a uniform curriculum. On the primary level, people's own language is used as a teaching medium in the national-type schools while in the secondary level, the Malay language is the primary medium for teaching all subjects except English, Science and Mathematics. The teaching of science and mathematics in English was reintroduced in Malaysia a few years ago, in an attempt to halt the slide in the command of English among students, and to prepare them for tertiary education.

On this page, we view some of the most established schools in Penang. Also included are the colleges and universities.