THE PRACTICE OF DEMOCRATIZATION OF EDUCATION IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS AND CHINESE SCHOOLS IN MALAYSIA

<jats:p>The existence of Islamic Religious Schools (IRS) and Chinese Schools (CS) preceeded the history of the formation of the country and developed along with the various educational policies implemented by the government until it successfully dignified its position in the current of national education. However, the managers in both types of schools were found to be in conflict with the government in fighting for their educational rights. The conflict between school managers and the government is about maintaining the main goal of school establishment or the school’s traditional curriculum, namely the Diniah curriculum (IRS) and the Chinese language and culture curriculum (CS). In addition, school managers also experience conflicts of overlapping management powers between the School Management Board (SMB) and the government, the ambiguity of education rights based on national legislation and a lack of justice from the aspect of government financial aid distribution. This study aims to examine the practice of democratization of education that exists in the management of both types of schools. In this qualitative study, data was collected through semi-structured interviews with two managers from IRS and two CS managers in Malaysia. The findings of the study show that the government is seen to be practicing imperfect democracy in fulfilling the four aspects of both types of schools’ educational rights, namely the main goal of establishing schools, management authority, legislation and the distribution of financial aid. This government’s practice shows the spirit of democratization of education that prioritizes the direction of the national education policy to meet the country’s aspirations in facing the needs of the 21th century.</jats:p>