[ SINCERE ] Ideas and challenges
[ www.sincere-network.org ]
[ Editorial ]
Dear Researchers and Stakeholders in Education,
Welcome to the second issue of the SINCERE
BULLETTIN “Ideas and Challeges”.
SINCERE is a support action co-funded by the
European Commission in the frame of FP6–Priority
7 aimed at strengthening international networking
and cooperation in Educational Research and at
promoting a reflection on the future of educational
research in an international perspective. Since its
inception in 2006 SINCERE is working to enhance
a process of reflection on the future of educational
research in an international perspective so to
contribute to the identification of the necessary
steps to ensure that future research in education
is relevant to the needs of society and to the
globalisation trend we are all experiencing.
The second issue of the SINCERE Thematic
Bullettin "Ideas and challenges" deals with the
theme of Rural Education highlighting the
experience of Malaysia in promoting education in
rural areas. A virtual discussion forum has been
launched on the theme of Rural Education on
the SINCERE web site (www.sincere-
network.org).
[ SINCERE News: ]
The first SINCERE Policy Seminar took place in
Brussels on December 10 2007, hosted by the
European Commission - DG EAC. The Seminar
was aimed at presenting the SINCERE Green
Paper on the Internationalisation of Educational
Research and at discussing the challenges
related to making educational research
responsive to the needs of society in an
international perspective. Representatives of the
European Commission, of European educational
research networks and educational research
The SINCERE Green Paper on
Internationalisation of Educational Research is
now on-line on the SINCERE website
(www.sincere-network.org).
RECLA
[S]upporting [IN]ternacional [C]ooperacition on [E]ducational [RE]search
This newsletter is an output of the SINCERE project. SINCERE is a project supported by the European Commission (VII Framework Program). The content
of this newsletter has been produced by the SINCERE consortium and it does not necessarily reflects the opinion or position of the European Commission.
[ Sincere bulletin 2 ] [ February 2008 ]
If you wish to participate in this thematic
discussion forum please register on the
SINCERE website (www.sincere-network.org)
by following these simple steps:
1. Type www.sincere-network.org in your
browser
2. On the left side of the page click in "Register
on SINCERE"
3. Fill in the information requested by the system
4. Click in "Register".
The username and password will be delivered
directly to your inbox. Enter your username and
[1]
password on the SINCERE main page and then
click in "Log-in". Finally you just have to go to the
"Collaboration space" section.
We would like to invite you to express your
comments about the Malaysian experience and
share with us ongoing experiences in your own
country and to discuss with us on the extent to
which educational research is contributing to
enhance policies and initiatives related to the
inclusion of potentially marginalised groups such
as the inhabitants of rural areas. The forum will be
active until the end of March 2008. Once the forum
is closed a report will be drafted on the main
outcomes of the discussion and participants to the
forum will get one free copy of the report .
experts and decision makers took part in the
seminar which turned out to be a successful
event both in terms of participation and of the
issues discussed. You can download the report
of the Seminar directly from the main page of
the SINCERE website (www.sincere-network.org)
The next SINCERE Policy Seminar will take
place in Spain in Spring 2008. Further details
will be given shortly on the SINCERE
web site.
Enjoy the reading and send your
comments/reflections/questions to Stefania Aceto
- saceto@scienter.org
 [ Rural education in Malaysia: ]
Jamaliah Abdul Hamid & Ramli Basir
Faculty of Educational Studies
Universiti Putra Malaysia
The Ministry of Education, Malaysia defines
rural schools as schools whose location are
outside of the ministration of a town council.
In contrast, urban schools are those within the
parameters of the nearest town council, and
have access to at least two public amenities
namely water, electricity and health services.
In June 2007, there are 5,262 rural primary
schools and 876 rural secondary schools in
Malaysia, bringing to a total of 9,679
(Educational Planning and Research Division,
2007). There are about 104,301 teachers in
the rural primary schools, while another 53,991
service the rural secondary schools. In June
2007, 1,439,532 students were enrolled in the
primary rural schools, while another 826,714
in the secondary rural schools. However, there
are rural schools with student enrolment of
less that 150 students and these schools are
also known as the under-enrolment schools.
Under-enrolled schools are typically small,
and lack the general administrative support
structure, available in most schools. Typically,
there are not enough teachers, and it is
common to find multi-grade teaching (teaching
across all ages and grades) in these schools.
In 2005, there were 2,261 of under-enrolled
schools. Another type of school typically in the
rural areas is the Schools for Indigenous
Students, and Very Remote Schools.
Rural education however, is given due
emphasis in the Education Master Plan 2006-
2010. In the Ninth Malaysian Budget Allocation
for 2006-2010, projects to uplift and expand
pre school education in the rural area received
funding of MYR260.9 million, with primary
education receiving MYR2, 737.8 million, and
secondary schools MYR2, 571.7 million. In
comparison, urban school projects received
66.4 million for pre-school education, MYR1,
386.4 million for primary school education and
MYR1, 949.5 million for secondary school
education. In addition, MYR606.1 million was
allocated for the specific purpose of upgrading
facilities in rural primary schools and MYR335.9
million for secondary schools. For hard core
rural areas in Sabah and Sarawak in East
Malaysia, a further MYR1, 147.5 million was
also pumped in to upgrade and expand
education in rural areas. In many rural areas,
day hostels facilities are also provided, and
MYR1, 183.5 million was allocated to improve
this facility.
In the Master Plan for Education in the Ninth
Malaysian Budget Allocation for 2006-2010
(Chapter 7), the Ministry of Education has
pledged efforts and funding to develop the
infrastructure and schooling facilities in rural
schools, particularly in very remote areas of
Sabah and Sarawak, minimize student attrition,
increase the number of qualified and trained
teachers in rural schools, and to improve aids
in various forms to poor students and students
with special needs or who come from a minority
ethnic group.
[2]
As of June 2006, 767 of the primary schools
and 28 of the secondary schools in rural areas
lack a 24-hr electricity facility, and the Ministry
of Education intends to provide these schools
with 30-35Kva diesel generators to enable
these schools to participate in the nation wide
computer aided education program initiated
in the nation. However, the problem of ensuring
fuel supply into remote rural schools is still
one of the major problems in the government’s
initiative. In many of these schools that also
lack fresh water supply, the Ministry of
Education in its Educational Master Plan has
invested allocations on projects for rain
harvesting, digging tube wells, and piping water
through gravity from nearby rivers or waterfalls.
In the effort to reduce the digital divide between
urban and rural schools, the Ministry of
Education has pledged to build computer
laboratories in rural schools, and ensuring
connectivity of all rural schools through the
SchoolNet bandwidth. Teachers are also
trained to incorporate the use of computers in
their teaching and learning activities, while
administrators are given exposure to the use
of computers to facilitate school administration
functions.
The mastery of basic skills Reading, Writing
and Mathematics is still a major core of concern
particularly in pre-school and primary school
education in the rural areas. In 2006, the
Ministry of Education introduced the Early
Intervention Class for Reading and Writing
(known as the KIA2M) in the first three years
of primary school education for students who
are identified as at-risk in the skills of reading
and writing. Students who fail to master the
skills will be placed in Special Remedial
Classes, and taught by specially trained
 [ Rural education in Malaysia: ]
Jamaliah Abdul Hamid & Ramli Basir
Faculty of Educational Studies
Universiti Putra Malaysia

teachers. Although this option is expected to
benefit all students nationwide, some of the
greatest impact will be amongst students who
attend Remote Schools and whose early
learning experiences have been compromised
due to the lack of teachers or multigrade
teaching-learning classrooms.
Several types of generic aids are made
available to students nationwide, and some of
these have the potential to benefit the rural
poor. A few examples of the aid schemes are
Food Supplement and Milk programs,
other non-governmental bodies and at times,
even politicians. Random duplication of funding
for the same type of projects or programs will
increase cost but with not necessarily the
impact intended. There have been many
donations and grants awarded to schools to
aid poor students, purchase ICT hardware and
software, and to implement better co-curricular
activities, to name a few. Nevertheless, better
coordination between various sourcing
agencies should be reached so that more
equal spread of funding and support reaches
wider number of schools.

Scholarships for the very poor students to help
them pay fees, buy uniforms and other
schooling necessities, Free Text Book Aid
scheme, and Free Tuition Voucher Scheme
for students who have been identified by their
schools to be weak in Science, Mathematics,
English and the Malay Language.
One of the challenges in planning for and
executing aid projects and programs for rural
schools and poor students is the coordination
of schemes initiated by the government and
[3]
The improvement of education in rural areas
in Malaysia is one of the top agenda in nation
building. It is recognized that equity in education
is the basis for national unity and national
resiliency. Malaysia needs to ensure that its
future generation of citizens is all united and
capable of rising to the challenges brought
about by globalization, and in particular to
maintain global perspectives whilst remaining
committed to developing the local community
in terms of knowledge, skills, values, and
economic competitiveness.

[ References ]
· Educational Planning and Research Division,
2007.
· Education Master Plan in the Ninth Malaysian
Budget Allocation for 2006-2010
· Website: http://www.moe.gov.my (accessed
2-4 February 2007)