Despite the removal of exams, you will still see vans driving around housing estates with "Tuisyen" (Tuition) stickers on the back. From 3 PM to 6 PM, most Malaysian kids aren't playing; they are at Tuisyen centers learning how to solve Math problems faster or write better Karangan (essays).
Forget the sad cheese sandwiches of Western cafeterias. Malaysian school canteens sell Mee Goreng, Curry Puffs, Sup Ayam, and Ais Kepal (colored shaved ice). The social hierarchy is often determined by who gets to the canteen first to buy the limited keropok lekor .
The Malaysian education system is divided into several stages:
One does not simply understand Malaysian school life without understanding race and religion. The typical classroom is a microcosm of Malaysia: Ahmad (Malay), Wei (Chinese), Muthu (Tamil), and sometimes Dayang (East Malaysian, Sabah/Sarawak).
, the equivalent of the British O-Levels and the most critical gatekeeper for future studies. Pre-University (Post-secondary):