Malaysia belief that education plays a vital role in achieving the country’s vision of attaining the status of a fully developed nation in terms of economic development, social justice and spiritual, moral and ethical strength, towards creating a society that is united, democratic, liberal and dynamic. It is the mission of education to develop a world class quality education system which will realize the full potential of the individual and fulfill the aspiration of the Malaysian nation. (Education Act 1996, Ministry of Education Malaysia, 2001).
As the smallest country among the Southeast Asian Countries in terms of population, Brunei Darussalam clearly sets out its education policy aiming at quality education for all. One of its primary aims is to provide a minimum of 12 years of education for every Brunei a child, covering 7 years primary and pre-school, 3 years lower secondary school and 2 years on upper secondary or in a vocational/technical college. (Hamid, 2000)
Similar policy can be found in Lao PDR where Ministry of Education clearly set out their education development policy on providing quality education for all (Mitaray, 2000).