School Guide

The changing landscape of international education in Southeast Asia

Published by SchoolAdvisor | Mar 29, 2017

ISC Research (ISC) has tracked the international schools market since 1994 and there’s very clear indication that the market will continue to grow because of the qualifications and approaches to teaching and learning that international schools provide. There’s now world-wide demand for learning in the language of English, for a Western-style of learning that has moved away from the traditional didactic style to a more collaborative, creative, enquiry-based approach, and for high school qualifications that are recognised by the leading universities and multi-national companies; all of which is offered by international schools.

Image via: www.isyedu.org

Looking back just 16 years to the year 2000, there were fewer than one million children attending the 2,500 international schools available globally, that were mostly established for expatriate families. By 2011, these figures had increased to 3 million students learning at 6,000 schools in a much wider range of countries and attracting many more children of local families. This year’s ISC Global Report indicates there are 4.45 million students attending over 8,650 international schools in virtually every country of the world, with the vast majority of student enrolment being local children aiming for Western university.

Sami Yosef is the Head of South East Asia Research at ISC

Where are the greatest number of international schools?

There are now 23 countries in the world with over 100 English-medium international schools.

The UAE leads the world with 549 international schools teaching over 565,000 students. 255 schools in the UAE are located in Dubai alone. Here the options are extensive although competition for the best schools remains high. The National Curriculum of England is the most popular curriculum option and is offered in half of all international schools in the UAE.

China has 548 international schools.

Elsewhere Pakistan, India, Spain, Japan and Saudi Arabia all have over 200 international schools offering all or part of the curriculum in English (Pakistan has 440, India has 401, Spain has 349, Japan has 239 and Saudi Arabia has 238).

 

Image via: ISC Research

 

Countries with over 100 international schools include Indonesia (192 schools), Thailand (170) and Malaysia (170) in South East Asia; Qatar (154) and Turkey (107) in the Middle East; Hong Kong (171) in East Asia; Mexico (164), Brazil (185) and Argentina (164) in South America; Germany (158), Netherlands (152), Sweden (110), France (106) and Switzerland (106) in Europe; and Nigeria (176) and Egypt (191) in Africa.

 

Southeast Asia

South East Asia has seen strong growth over the past five years (December 2012 to December 2016). Student enrolment has increased 33.9% since 2012 to 370,000 and the number of international schools has grown by 39%. Six countries in the region now have over 100 international schools each: Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Singapore.

Image via: Tenby Schools

No longer is student enrolment at international schools in South East Asia dominated by expatriates. An increasing demand for international school places in the sub-region is coming from local families who want an English-medium education with globally-recognised qualifications for their children. This demand from local families has been particularly important for many international schools since suffering the impact of the oil and gas industry. Malaysia and Indonesia, two countries impacted most, have seen their international schools buoyed up by local families eager to fill places that have become available by departing expatriates.

Malaysia

  

In 2012, a 40% cap was removed on the number of Malaysian children who were able to attend international schools in the country and no new limitations put in its place. Today, international schools in Malaysia are legally entitled to enrol up to 100% Malaysian nationals if they choose. Most of the leading schools aim for a 50:50 ratio of local and expatriate children, representing within their intake an increasingly popular overarching international school ethos that combines both local culture and English-medium, internationally oriented learning.

As a result of the removal of restrictions, the number of international schools in Malaysia has increased from 108 in 2012 to 170 today, and the number of students attending international schools in the country has grown by almost 30,000 to 71,500. Kuala Lumpur is the leading city with 36 international schools and many schools there are seeing significant demand from local families.

Most recent growth in Malaysia has been in the international schools charging mid-range fees such as Taylor’s International Schools, HELP International School, Sri KDU International School and Fairview International School where many of the students are local Malaysian students.

Who is ISC Research?

 

ISC Research (ISC) is the leading provider of data and intelligence on the international schools market. It produces benchmarking, market intelligence and statistical reports for school development and companies wishing to know more about the market.

More information is available at www.iscresearch.com