Preschool or Kindergarten in Malaysia (TK's playbook)

(Public Secondary School: Taken during practicum)

Have you ever thought of Malaysia's education market is highly regulated and currently at its growth stage? Our federal government has allocated a huge portion of its budget to the education sector, with its aim to become a global hub and establish more international universities. According to Malaysia statistics in market share, it has been substantiated that Selangor has acquired the most market share, followed by Johor due to its population density, and also one of the lowest fees in private kindergarten. 

With my extensive research on the education sector and my interest to become a qualified teacher, I pursued Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching (PGDT) from Open University Malaysia (OUM) in 2019-2020. I was aware that acquiring such professional qualifications will give me a better insight on how to become a better teacher. With PGDT and other specified requirements, it allows the students to apply for a teaching permit and become registered teachers. 

Throughout my learning experience, the program itself has been designed to apply all the knowledge learned in the classroom and implement during our very last semester; professional practice such as:

1. Curriculum Development
2. Educational Leadership
3. Instructional Technology
4. Guidance & Counselling
5. Educational Assessment
6. Educational Management
7. Theories & Practices of teaching and learning
8. Emerging technologies in teaching and learning
9. Practical teaching

I have had the opportunity to teach for over 3 months at the Government Secondary school (Form 2 students) on both Mathematics & Science as my primary subjects. 

In today's post, I will share and explain in great detail the requirements to start your own preschool or kindergarten in Malaysia. Before we start, it is important to understand the guideline to protect the students' safety, wellbeing, rights, and health of the children. 

Essential Links

The process flow can be found at:

https://www.jkm.gov.my/jkm/index.php?r=portal/left&id=WWRhZ0cvbFFuak4rb0RQNk1PTzYvQT09 

The registration requirement & other essential information can be found at:

https://www.jkm.gov.my/jkm/index.php?r=portal/left&id=b0twWGNVR0N2VjdGV2N0S3JkbjlEZz09

The registration form can be found at:

https://www.jkm.gov.my/jkm/uploads/files/Borang%20Permohonan%20Pendaftaran%20Taman%20Asuhan%20Kanak-kanak(2).pdf

The 'Care & Early Education courses for Children PERMATA' can be found at:

https://www.jkm.gov.my/jkm/index.php?r=portal/left&id=UUNhTjJCQnlIYjBrUHlBU0tuSFVCdz09

This Social Welfare Department, also known as "Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat" (JKM), is the final agency to issue licenses to the business owners. This particular website will outline specifically the basic requirement needed, procedures or process flows, forms, and guidelines in order to establish a safe preschool here in Malaysia.

To scrutinize, every new business owner for preschool are required to meet the minimum technical standard set by (1) the local authority, (2) Fire & Rescue Department, (3) the Health Department, (4)  and also *Department of Land & Surveys (*applicable to Sarawak only). Of course, every child care operator must register with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) or Registrar of Society (ROS).

As an introduction, there are 4 categories of child care centers namely;

Home-based Child Care Centre	Community-based Child Care Centre	Work Place Child Care Centre	Institution-based Child Care Centre
Receives four to nine children	Receives ten or more children in a particular area	Receives ten or more children	Receives ten or more children
Set up in the homes of the person registered under *Section 7	Receives aid from the Federal Government or a State Government	Set up by an employer at the workplace for its employees	Set up by private sector or non-governmental organization (NGO)

It is important to pay attention to JKM's minimum standards such as student-teacher ratios, outlines for a balanced meal plan, activities with parent involvement, the dimension of the premise, and staff member requirements. All of these standards are aligned with The Standard National Preschool Curriculum (KSPK) issued by the Malaysia Ministry of Education (MOE) in 2010 that's includes both public and private preschools in Malaysia. 

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