Have you ever wondered how the schooling system is like in other countries compared with Malaysia? Well, going along with the NZ theme, New Zealand is the country we’ll explore today! Here are 5 differences between school in Malaysia and New Zealand.
1. Naming system
The most obvious difference is definitely the year level naming system. Like in the UK, the year levels are called “Years” instead of “Standard” and “Form”. Also, the numbers don’t restart in secondary school, so school in New Zealand goes from Year 1 through till Year 13, the very last year.
2. Primary school starts at age 5
Instead of starting at age 7 like in Malaysia, primary school starts at age 5 in New Zealand. Also, children enter school literally straight after their 5th birthday – they don’t have to wait for the start of a new school year. This means that there are many new students popping into the class throughout the year!
3. Intermediate school
Middle school is called intermediate school in New Zealand. It specializes in Year 7 – 8. That’s right – only 2 year levels. It serves to be a break between primary and high school. It’s all about catering specifically for that particular age group as emerging adolescents and preparing them for high school thoroughly.
4. High school national exam
The national examination for high school students is called NCEA. There are three levels – Level 1 is typically done in Year 11, Level 2 in Year 12, and Level 3 in Year 13. NCEA is a credit system so in order to pass each level, the student has to achieve the required number of credits.
5. Age for university
After graduating from high school, students are able to immediately move on to university, provided they achieve University Entrance (UE) which is based on their NCEA results. So as long as a student has University Entrance, they are entitled to apply to any university of their choice.
So there you have it, piefaces! How do you think this compares with school in Malaysia? Let us know in the comments below 🙂
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