Educating Delinquent Youths: The Malaysian Story

Abstract - This paper reports on the first stage of a bigger research on the education of delinquent youths in Malaysia. Specifically, this paper addresses the challenges of educating delinquent youths in the country. As a developing nation, Malaysia is not without its shares of issues pertaining social and youth development. The question to be answered is whether delinquent youths in Malaysia are ‘neglected’ from getting systematic and adequate education. In Malaysia, delinquent youths are sent to correctional facilities all around the country, where they are separated from school systems, families and communities; it can be argued that these youths are deprived of moral support from society. This paper aims to identify the challenges of educating delinquent youths in Malaysia and to recommend potential solutions to these challenges. The research approaches adopted for this paper included content analysis of printed documents and preliminary informal interviews with the staff at one correctional facility. Content analysis data were gathered from department and governmental documents made public as well as past research on delinquent youths. Meanwhile, a curtsy visit was made to a correctional facility in Kuala Lumpur to observe and obtain preliminary input into the education and training provided at the facility. The authors found that there are three main challenges to sufficiently educate delinquent youths in Malaysia. These include unclear policy on the education of youths at correctional facilities; the lack of framework in facilitating the education of these youths; and the lack of awareness and understanding on the need for educating these youths, despite their behaviors. The paper ends with two solutions to these challenges and future directions for this issue on the education of delinquent youths in Malaysia.