To oversee educational policy and allocate instructional materials to all educational institutions, an official government commission report reorganized Brunei’s educational system in 1974. Under the Education Act of 1984, the Ministry of Education currently oversees all public and private educational establishments. The Ministry has determined a uniform curriculum that is followed by all elementary and secondary educational institutions. In their educational system, both Malay and English are used as languages.
Current structure and format
Children in Brunei start preschool at age five and stay there for a full year before entering the formal school system. Primary education unfolds in two stages, encompassing six years. Students commence with a three-year lower primary phase (years one through three) before advancing to a three-year upper primary phase (years four through six). Students must take the Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (PSR), also known as the Primary School Assessment, before the end of Year 6. This is done to determine whether the kids are ready for secondary education and to assign them to the best secondary course based on their aptitude for learning. The General Secondary Education Programme, Applied Secondary Education Programme, Specialised Education Programme, and Special Educational Needs Programme are the four programs that are offered. After that, students will attend secondary school for four or five years. However, they follow a common syllabus for the first two years (Years 7 and 8).
Brunei education facts
In Brunei, Saturday is a working day and Friday and Sunday are closed for schools. There are four terms in a year in Brunei. Every semester is followed by a 10-day or two-week holiday. The academic year consists of around 200 days in total, including several public holidays. Brunei’s government is based on the monarchy and has an Islamic background. The primary emphasis of their official educational philosophy is on aspects of the Koran, such as religion and piety, as well as loyalty to the Sultan. Due to Brunei’s historical reliance on Britain, the country’s educational structures and curricula have been influenced by the British educational system. In Brunei, there were 221 educational institutions in total in 2000. These establishments included two trade schools, 39 secondary schools, 175 elementary schools, and numerous more establishments.
Private and public schools in Brunei
For Bruneian inhabitants, public education is free for pupils five to eighteen. But foreigners are exempt from this. In Brunei, instruction is typically conducted in English in all government schools. Nonetheless, depending on the school, some provide classes in either Arabic or Chinese. Malay, usually referred to as Bahasa Melayu, is the official language that students must learn. In terms of private education, the capital city of Bandar Seri Begawan is home to a few renowned institutions like The International School Brunei and Jerudong International School. These educational institutions provide a range of extracurricular activities in addition to the British and foreign curricula. At these schools, boarding is another option. Most private schools provide courses like the A-Levels, IGCSEs, and Brunei-Cambridge O-Levels. In addition to Islamic schools, there are a handful of missionary schools serving Catholics and Anglicans that are classified as private schools.
Education levels
In Brunei, the pattern for schooling levels is 7-3-2-2. A year of preschool is included in the first part of seven years of primary education, which concludes with a public test called the Primary Certificate of Education. The following section comprises three years of lower secondary schooling, culminating in the Lower Secondary Assessment Test, a public test. Upon completion, students choose between a technical/vocational or academic stream. The latter comprises two to three years of upper secondary education, paving the way for the Brunei-Cambridge GCE exam based on examination results. There are two types of GCE exams: O-Level and N-Level. N-Level graduates pursue an extra year of study before the O-Level exam. Afterward, they can extend their pre-university education for one or two more years, preparing for the Brunei-Cambridge A-Level exams. Students can then continue their education at a university after that.
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