Enrollments at the primary and lower secondary levels are nearly universal in Malaysia and recent gains in pre-primary education have been noteworthy, according to a recent reportfrom the World Bank. However, relatively few students continue on to complete postsecondary education, with just 37.2 percent of the relevant age group completing upper secondary (Form 6 or equivalent), and 15.3 percent of 25-29 year olds in 2012 holding a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Spending on education is considered adequate by the World Bank and does not appear to be hindering improvements to the system. Expenditure on basic education is more than double that of other ASEAN countries; however, according to the results of 2012 PISA testing, regionally Malaysian students outperform only their Indonesian peers and lag behind lower income countries like Vietnam quite substantially. This despite enrollment levels equal to those of developed economies in the region.