Over the weekend we went to see a private school in KL which was having its open day. The private school offers the kind of education which solves our current “Kebangsaan School or Chinese School” dilemma.
The medium of instruction is mainly in English with the study of Chinese Mandarin as a compulsory second language. (Some parents want their kids to learn Chinese but not in the kind of learning environment that is being offered at Chinese Schools.)  Of course Malay is taught too because the students have to sit for the government exams. Plus there is a lot of focus on ICT as well and the facilities are there for it. With airconditioned classrooms and a nice library and a big hall for games. Nice?
However at an average fee of RM10,000 a year (and this is a modest estimate) *calculate calculate* from Standard 1 to Form 5 (11 years) would cost *calculate calculate* *drum roll* Taddaaaa! Only RM110,000. This does not include many other fees like transportation (because the private schools are usually very far and out of the way), food, other activities etc. So lets say on a rough estimate it costs RM150,000 per child for 11 years x 2 (because I have 2 kids) bringing that to a grand total of only RM300,000! Waluaeh! And that does not include higher education. Most people would opt for overseas education.
Gosh! I think I will go back and start cracking my head again over the dilemma. I have no choice but to choose between the devil or the deep blue sea. (Either the too lepak Kebangsaan school or the too strict Chinese School). Private education solves our dilemma but how many people can afford it? Even then many middle class families are now turning to it (Not only the filthy rich send their kids to private schools these days.) Many parents have to slog really hard to provide their children with the kind of learning environment which they hope will provide them with the opportunities to make them thrive and excel. But its so expensive. Sigh!
Anyway, here are the links to some of the private schools around KL if you are interested:
I was also thinking about private….but from the looks of it, I think too expensive ya! Which one did you ask?
Sri Garden near Cheras was having an open day.
OMG!!! Now I can’t sit still after reading this..:(
Lol! Why? Must start working very hard adi izzit?
some said d money is worth paying as we don need to spend on after school private activities like tuition, music and art class (+ the time of fetching them). But growing up in a Kebangsaan school myself, I see private school more tough ler…hehe..better enjoy life in kebangsaan school to have fun childhood years (not Chinese school)
Ya lor. I saw the day ends at 3pm for the kids because extra curriculum activities all covered. I don’t think its more tough because I see some of my nieces and nephews enjoying their school very much. They are very active in sports, music, drama etc but they love it. Some of them jump from Kebangsaan school to private some from Chinese school to private becos parents beh tahan liao.
haha..really expensive. I heard some of the kindergarten also need around RM1K a month o..I am thinking to send my daughter to better kindergarten(english instruction), any suggestion?
Depends on where you are staying. For me, the choice of kindergarten revolves around location. There are usually plenty around each housing estate. You just have to visit all those near where you live and then pick the one that gives you the best feeling overall.
Dear,
RM10k is cheap… international schools average out RM16k per term.. we are talking about 3 terms a year..or is it 4 terms?
I am considering home schooling and then private school… private school following international syllabus is about RM16k to Rm18k per year…
Cheap? I wish I could say that. Hehe. Anyway, I know what you mean. I’m just making a very rough and modest estimate (towards the lower side) and I am talking about private schools following the local syllabus not international schools with international syllabus.
yeah sri inai cost rm12k per yr n thats oni school fees. if i hit the lottery edi, i wld still send my kids to chinese school and later to private school during secondary time.
some said, private school is not as gd as b4.
and also depends on the child itself if they can cope with the ‘wealth’ most of the peers have.
a relative of mine who was in private school wanted to change HP coz her fren has the latest model.
another cousin of mine is fine in privte school. she wasnt spoilt n herparents were not as rich as those kids’ parents! diff to make the decision hor..
Oh yah hor, got peer pressure pulak. Nothing is perfect.
since u r a sahm, why not homeschool ur children? =)
I can only homeschool for preschool level. Haha. Beyond that it takes too much commitment and time which I don’t have plus the kids will miss out on going out and socialising plus learning about the real world from their peers. That, I can’t teach them.
me also no money to send my children to private school. I’m SAHM leh..some more 3 kids. 🙁
3 kids susah ler, how to afford…
benghui is in a chinese school and is a sekolah cemerlang some more. the pressure on the kids n the parents is so heavy. he seems to be studying n reluctantly sometimes all the time with tuition n wat nots. 🙁
when i was a kid, education was so simple
Yes, I hear you. It was so simple then.
it’s a really difficult decision right? well, i said sekolah kebangsaan is a good choice…perhaps mandarin
can be taken from home tuition…
for that amount of money, i thk i would rather go holidays to overseas with my kid(s):-)
Yes, that is an option but sometimes it doesn’t turn out when the kid rejects the home tuition for the extra subject but if I eventually send to Kebangsaan school that is what I plan to do.
I have some relative’s kids studying at Sri KL, I think it’s much more than 10K. And I think, time wise, it’s almost the same as chinese school. My relative’s kids reach home late in the evening, 5-6pm.
Even tho my kids speak good mandarin (kindie taught mandarin), I decided to send my kids to Kebangsaan school, because I don’t wan my kids to grow up like my neighbour’s kid. Really no time to come out and play. So much homework, etc.
I say dat but even in Kebangsaan school there’s so much homework. 😛
Ironically my dotter is doing very well in mandarin class and can still speak very well.
Your dotter’s Kebangsaan school got mandarin classes one ah?
This, school, has always been our headache. Even starting kindy is not easy for my first one.
Gadget-daddy and have decided that Chinese school is not suitable for our boys. They are the type who would like to talk to adults and exchange ideas with them Sure kena label “no-manners” in Chinese School and the homework will kill whatever interest they have for learning, not to mention kill their happy spirits.
For now, our solution is apparently solved. Gadget-daddy going to get a job in Singapore. It could be better or worse. There also got some horror kiasu stories from bro-in-law who met many unhappy Singaporeans in Uni there.
No where is a bed of roses.
p/s – Must check out canteen food, too. My sis was working in an international school once and she said the food so bad (taste and health wise) but so expensive.
Oh, you’re moving down south then.
Kebangsaan school got extra mandarin classes wan mah. No meh? My dotter’s school got mandarin class wan wor. The teacher is from the nearby Chinese School.
I was told by a teacher at one kebangsaan school that the mandarin class is a pilot project at certain schools only, started with std one the year before. Its in a few select schools only.
I pay almost RM15K/year for my boy to go to kindy to sing song, play and do arts&craft. Almost as much as my dotter to go to regular school.. O.O
But then again, the earning power is much higher here (at least 2-3 times higher). So taking that into consideration, private/intl schooling is very expensive in Msia.
I’m also planning to send my children to a private school but the cost of education nowadays really makes you think twice. Of course you want the best for them but what if you can’t afford it or it’s way over your budget? My parents were able to send me to a private school and I can’t thank them enough for giving me that kind of education, and I’d like my kids to receive the same education. But with the cost nowadays, it pains me to realize that I might not be able to do so.
I was thinking that its better to start them off with the public education system first and save up for secondary private education, if possible. It would be harder to adjust if they had to be kicked out of the private school due to our dwindling finances. That would be really hard on them.
Private schools are not even good. International schools are THE way to go, even with the RM39,000 pricetag a year (for my year level)
Not everyone can afford that price tag.
I was in the same dilemma as you. After not getting our choice of Chinese school, we appealed for a Kebangsaan school, and given another again. We attended their Orientation, and it was beyond belief. It truly is a Malay school for Malays only. That very afternoon, we went hunting for International & Private schools, & picked Sri Sedaya for various reasons, in comparison the the others in the area. It was a huge relief, we couldn’t put our child in SK. 3 days later we registered, paid fees, bought uniform & books & started a day later. To our surprise, most of the private school students are just like us, i.e. transferred from SK schools after attending orientation, middle class families of only child, slogging to provide an education for only child with no other good option in Malaysia. Right now, am still adjusting to the shock & the money outflowing like crazy, but there is seriously no other option.