Malaysia lost billions by not educating non-citizen children: study
Report argues integrating these children into public education is moral as well as economic imperative
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (MNTV) — Malaysia lost billions in potential income by excluding non-citizen children born in the country from formal education, according to a joint policy paper by the Social Wellbeing Research Centre (SWRC) and Unicef Malaysia.
The report, titled Wasted Potential: The Economic Case for Educating Non-Citizen Children Born in Malaysia in an Ageing Nation, argues that integrating these children into public education is not only a moral imperative but also a critical economic strategy amid Malaysia’s rapidly ageing population, according to The Edge.
The study defines non-citizen children as children born in Malaysia without Malaysian citizenship due to jus sanguinis nationality laws (citizenship by descent only); refugee children registered with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR); stateless children; and children of undocumented or migrant workers.
Despite being born and raised in Malaysia, many of these children are legally excluded from public education due to their status.
According to the Ministry of Education, only 10,076 non-citizen children were enrolled in public schools in 2023. Among the 40,486 refugee children registered with the UNHCR, only 13,027 were enrolled in learning centres — reflecting a gross enrolment rate of just 32.2%. Both data sets reveal a sharp drop in participation from primary to secondary levels.
“These low numbers show non-citizen children are being systematically excluded from meaningful educational opportunities,” the authors wrote.
The paper estimates the discounted present value of lost earnings for the 2016 cohort of 290,437 non-citizen children born in Malaysia to be equivalent to 4.00–9.49% of GDP by 2025.
“Excluding them from education reduces lifetime earnings, limits productivity and shrinks Malaysia’s tax base,” the report notes. “Over time, this diminishes innovation, weakens economic resilience and undermines the transition to a high-income nation.”
Malaysia’s economy faces challenges from an ageing population, low wages and unequal job opportunities. Many groups — especially women, undocumented and stateless individuals — are left out or underpaid because they lack access to education and job training.
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