page_title: Penang
section_title: Education
hierarchical_section_title: Penang / Education
caption_attribution_description: English: RUMC in George Town, Penang, Malaysia
context_page_description: Penang is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay Peninsula. They are connected by Malaysia's two longest road bridges, the Penang Bridge and the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge; the latter is also, as of May 2019, the longest oversea bridge in Southeast Asia. The second smallest Malaysian state by land mass, Penang is bordered by Kedah to the north and the east, and Perak to the south.
  Penang's population stood at nearly 1.767 million as of 2018, while its population density rose to 1,684/km². It has among the nation's highest population densities and is one of the country's most urbanised states. Seberang Perai is Malaysia's second largest city by population. Its heterogeneous population is highly diverse in ethnicity, culture, language and religion. Aside from the three main races, the Malays, Chinese, and Indians, Penang is home to significant Eurasian, Siamese and expatriate communities. George Town is also home to a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
context_section_description: Penang's literacy rate stood at 98.2% as of 2010, whilst specifically, the literacy rate of Penang's youth between 15 and 24 years of age rose to 99.5% in 2014, after Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. Correspondingly, Penang has the third highest Human Development Index within Malaysia.
  As of 2017, Penang, including both the mainland and the island contains a total of 48 tertiary institutions (including universities, colleges, medical colleges, industrial training institutes and teaching schools), 12 international schools, 110 secondary schools, 271 primary schools and 602 kindergartens.
  In particular, George Town is home to some of Malaysia's oldest schools. Established in 1816, Penang Free School is the oldest English school in Southeast Asia, while the numerous missionary schools within the city include St. Xavier's Institution, St. George's Girls' School and Methodist Boys' School. In addition, the city is a pioneer in Chinese education within the region; following the establishment of Chung Hwa Confucian High School in 1904, several prominent Chinese schools were built, such as Chung Ling High School, Penang Chinese Girls' High School, Heng Ee High School, Jit Sin High School and Phor Tay High School.
  As a popular destination for expatriates, George Town contains a number of international schools as well, such as Uplands International School, Dalat International School, Tenby International School and Hua Xia International School. These schools offer primary and secondary education up to A Levels and International Baccalaureate. A few of these schools, such as Penang Japanese School and Chinese Taipei School, cater to expatriates of specific nationalities.
  Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) is the premier public university within Penang. Established in 1969 as Malaysia's second university, it was originally named Universiti Pulau Pinang (University of Penang). The main campus is situated at Gelugor, while an engineering campus has been built in Nibong Tebal. As of 2018, it was ranked 207th in the QS World University Rankings, the fourth highest within the country. 
  RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus is a medical university in George Town, with teaching hospitals in Penang and Perak. Founded as a private medical school in 1996, RUMC gained university status in 2018 and is the only Irish university branch campus in Malaysia. Graduates of RUMC are conferred degrees awarded and recognised by the National University of Ireland.
  Other tertiary institutions within Penang include Wawasan Open University, Han Chiang University College of Communication, DISTED College, Sentral College, SEGi College,  KDU College, INTI International College, Equator Academy of Arts, Penang Skills and Development Centre and Lam Wah Ee Nursing College. Aside from these institutions, RECSAM, a research and training facility aimed at the enhancement of the science and mathematics education in Southeast Asia, is sited within Penang as well.
  The state also contains 107 libraries, including the Penang State Library and the Penang Digital Library. The latter, launched by the Penang state government in 2016, is the first digital library in Malaysia.
caption: RCSI & UCD Malaysia Campus
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