Malaysia

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Malaysia has a population of almost 34 million people (World Bank, 2022). Open and distance learning (ODL) is popular in Malaysia, with half of working adults involved. Malaysia has hosted several important COL meetings and events, including the Eighth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning in November 2016.

COL’s work in Malaysia is primarily in the areas of higher education and technology-enabled learning and benefits from programmes under the aegis of the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA). Learners from Malaysia are also benefitting from COL’s free online courses and other openly available resources.

Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, 15-64 years old¹
n/a		n/a
Female		male

Completion rate, lower secondary education¹
n/a		n/a
Female		Male

Gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education for the school year ending in 2021¹
47.3%		35.8%
Female		Male

Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications in secondary education¹
90.8%		89.3%
Female (2021)		Male (2021)

1. UNESCO Institute for Statistics Data Centre, retrieved in May 2023

Highlights

A national inclusive Open Educational Resources (OER) policy has been adopted by the Ministry of Higher Education.
COL’s benchmarking toolkit for TEL was implemented in eight universities in Malaysia to assess existing capacities and develop roadmaps for further action.

Partners

Partnerships are fundamental to COL’s work. Strategic partnerships allow COL to broaden its reach and engage at global, regional and national levels, while implementation partners support COL’s work in communities and institutions across Commonwealth Member States. Partners include multilateral organisations, regional bodies, national governments, government agencies, foundations, civil society organisations, public and private (not-for-profit) institutions and the private sector. COL partnerships assist in improving and extending teaching and learning services to people in the developing Commonwealth.

COL’s partners in Malaysia include:

Ministry of Higher Education
Asia e University (AeU)
HELP University (HU)
Open University Malaysia (OUM)
Quest International University (QIU)
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Wawasan Open University (WOU)

Key Contacts

Focal Point

Associate Professor Dr Azidah Abu Ziden
Director, Academic Excellence Division
Department of Higher Education
Ministry of Higher Education

Notable Mention

Prof Dr Zoraini Wati Abas, Honorary COL Adviser

Prof Dato’ Dr Ansary Ahmed, former Honorary COL Advisor

YBhg Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Anuwar Ali, COL Honorary Fellow

Tan Sri Dato’ Emeritus Prof Gajaraj Dhanarajan, COL Honorary Fellow and former COL President & CEO

Literacy rate
n/a		n/a
Female, Adult (15+)		Male, Adult (15+)

Economic Activity – Labour Forces Participation (2020)¹
55.4%		80.7%
Female, Ages 15-64		Male, Ages 15-64

Political Decision Making (2022)¹
14.7%
Share of seats held by women in national parliament

Life expectancy (2023)¹
77.1		72.6
Female		Male

1. COL gender country profile October 2023

97	140
Individuals using the internet (%)¹	Mobile-cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹

11	130
Fixed-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹	Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants¹




1. International Telecommunication Union (ITU), retrieved in May 2023.

Malaysia

Highlights

Partners

Key Contacts

Focal Point

Notable Mention

More Information

News

Reports

Publications and Resources

Country Data Sources