Boys' hair must not touch the collar; girls with long hair often must tie it up with specific blue or black ribbons.

The Malaysian government has introduced several reforms and initiatives to address the challenges facing the education system. These include:

For the elite top-scorers, boarding schools like the Sekolah Tunku Kurshiah (STK) or the Royal Military College are the goal. Life here is spartan, militaristic, and academically obsessive. Students wake up at 5:00 AM for morning runs, study until 11:00 PM, and are forbidden from using phones during weekdays. These schools produce the bulk of Malaysia's doctors, engineers, and politicians.