Parenting Guide

Optimum age to start formal education

Published by SchoolAdvisor | Feb 08, 2013
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The proposal to lower the entrance age of formal education from six years plus to five years plus has been on and off the radar. The proposal was included in the Education Ministry’s Interim Strategic Plan 2011-2020. If accepted, the policy would be implemented in 2015 and would require the amendment of Section 29 in the Education Act 1996 that states that children aged six must attend primary school.

The proposal was made was during the tabling of the 10th Malaysian Plan (10MP) in 2010. Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the Education Minister, said that children now are more mature and should be able to enter formal education much earlier.

Compulsory school entrance age differs across countries and there is continuing debate on whether the entry ages affect the students’ performance. The starting age for students in the United States, Canada and Germany is 6, while it is 5 in the United Kingdom and Australia. Closer to home, children in Singapore start school at the age of 6, while Indonesian children start school at 7 years of age.

Several published studies have shown no significant differences in the scholastic performances of primary school children who started school earlier than their counterparts. In fact, students who are older when they enter school perform slightly better than those who entered earlier, although the difference in the achievement is very small or disappear altogether by the end of the primary schooling.Some education expert, such as Dr Richard House, even went as far as warning that children should not start school until they are six to prevent early ‘adultification’. The academician claimed that early over-emphasis on reading, writing and arithmetic can actually cause long-term damage.While research have shown that children who attended pre-school have benefited from it, starting formal education at a very young age requires the primary school syllabus to be altered to accommodate to the child’s level of development.Younger entrance age means that schools have to also provide infrastructures to support the children’s need for outdoor activities to aid their sense of touch, balance and coordination. Subsequently, primary school teachers will have to be trained in early childhood care and education to be better equipped to teach a much younger audience. Classes also have to be shorter as the children will not be able to cope with the long hours at school compared to pre-school or nursery.

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On the flipside, kids who start schooling earlier means they can finish school earlier too. That way, they can either enter the workforce and earn their own income earlier, or take a gap year between secondary and tertiary education. A gap year could be beneficial for teenagers who are still undecided of their major, to experience the world and shape their worldview.According to the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP), not all children may be prepared to start formal schooling at the age of five plus and recommends that the proposal should first be tried out at a pilot stage.

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