Foodi

The fees depend on the grades, type of schools and locations. I don't know about local schools but for international schools for instance, the fees for high school in KL can be around 120k while in Penang, about 60-70k.

eCdD

Yes, funny numbers, I know

But I only care about local schools, mixed gender and mixed races.

RedApe

I don't think children of non-permanent residents can enroll in State (Public) Schools. Private Schools and International schools are the only option, I believe. An exception may occur in out-of-the way places like Bario, for lower grades. But it's more of a "nudge-nudge, wink-wink" sort of arrangement. I'd be interested in hearing about any other cases.

eCdD

Sounds very unhappy, but let´s see. Of cause being not able to send the kids to public school would be a great argument to leave the country. For Europeans the idea of paying per kid 10000 Euros or more a year for schooling instead of zero at home is a little bit "unattractive".

RedApe

I haven't heard of private or Chinese schools that charge 10K Euros, but maybe they exist. As noted by others the price varies a lot. Many expats include the cost of schooling as part of the salary package. Even many locals prefer the private school systems for their childrens' education, for good reason. I think any kid would have to have a very good background in Bahasa Malay before attending. In some courses the material will be taught exclusive in Bahasa Malay. Remember, you are sending you children into a system which is NOT intended to educate a foreign-language speaking child, and which is not going to have standards anywhere approaching that of Europe.

For MM2H applicants...most likely would not have children of school age, or at least not of early school age. Those that would come would likely be older students and one would want a good school if one wanted them to succeed. Would a Malaysian government school have the opportunity for a Senior to learn calculus, or college prep courses in Science? Would the school require religious education? Etc.

eCdD

I see the kids of my neighbors and I think their schools are very good. Before they went to school they only spoke Cantonese and English, from my experience a lot of Chinese and Indian Malaysians enter school with almost zero Bahasa knowledge, just like our kids. Now the neighbors kids are already fluent also in Bahasa and Mandarin. For me, this is a key argument.

As I am Catholic, the Catholic schools would be my first choice, but I also heard good things about the Methodist schools here. And they have a good reputation for being mixed race, which I think is also very good for a foreign kid. I am very happy with the Kindergarden we found, hope we can continue this environment.

Of cause I would not send my kids to a Islamic public school, I am only considering Christian or Chinese. But I want to avoid a private Chinese school where only the kids of rich Chinese Malays study.

RedApe

Since you are already here wouldn't the best thing to do would be to go to the schools and ask about the transition. I would ask what the fees are if they accept the children of people on your type of immigration pass. Likely they have encountered dozens (or even hundreds) of people asking down through the decades. What your options are depends on the State you live in, how far you might want to drive your children, and whether or not the school is private or government run (even some with religious names and traditions might now be fully integrated into the government system).

eCdD

Yes, I think most private schools are now fully integrated in the government system. Just the hyperexpensive "internationals" are not.

Of cause going to the schools and ask is the best thing, just still a little bit early, so I hope to collect more information from other foreigners.

Driving the kids to school is the other big thing as I certainly would prefer a school in walking distance. Or school bus.

SushiFan

10 k Euros is approximately 48 k RM.

InFlagranteDelicto

Yes Uplands in Penang is 50k RM.

RedApe

Holy crap! If you were a UK/European Union student (pre-Brexit) you could attend Cambridge, Imperial College, Oxford, or UCL for £9,250 (€10,580).


School fees (two years ago) at the Lodge International School in Kuching, Sarawak ran between RM4260 for Kindy, RM7340 for Years 2-6, RM9000 for 7-8, RM11,000 for 9th year, RM16,500 for (10-11 O Level) and RM20K for 12-13 (A Level). There's a one time refundable membership fee between RM4500-8500 depending on grade level (reduced for subsequent children). And probably assessment, uniform and application fees. Tunku Putra is a little bit more expensive but without the "membership fee") I'm surprised that there isn't something equivalent on the Peninsula.

Like I said, probably best to talk to the local public schools about the potential of sending your kids there. Maybe there are loopholes that the administrators know about. Then again, they may say "absolutely not".

InFlagranteDelicto

Yes because Cambridge and Oxford and all the UK university system is subsidised. You dont think it REALLY costs that low do you?
Uplands I think is the most expensive, but there are cheaper International options in Penang.

Foodi

For international schools, in addition to the school fees, you often have to pay entrance/registration fees (one time non refundable). In the case of Uplands, it is RM 7000. Then you have field trips (cost varies but could be up to couple thousands), membership, infrastructure, etc. So for a high school student at Uplands you should count more than 60k for the first year at least. There are other cheaper options for younger kids in Penang such as SCIPS, below 10k for primary students.