Anuar Ahmad of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said students in the two countries were exposed to informal and casual learning that enables them to master reading, counting and writing (3M).

“In South Korea, primary education ends at the age of 11, while in England it’s 10.

“This aligns with Unesco and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s guidelines, where the age of 10 is considered the maximum age for mastering the 3Ms.

“In Malaysia, children only finish primary school at the age of 12,” the senior lecturer at UKM’s Center of Education and Diversity said in a Facebook post.

He said the earlier start in education illustrated the emphasis developed nations placed on early childhood education, using primary schools as a platform for cultivating a good foundation through “fun learning” and “exploration”.

Anuar, who is also secretary of the National Council of Professors’ education and human capital development cluster, said developed countries refrain from relying on textbooks.

Instead, they delegate the responsibility of determining the syllabus to schools and teachers, taking into account the needs of students and the local context.

“That’s why their primary school teachers receive salaries equivalent to those of secondary school teachers.

“In Finland, to become a primary school teacher, one must have a degree in education. Degrees in other fields would not be considered.

“Primary school teachers in that country receive great recognition. What about ours?”