Formal education only began in Brunei in the early 20th century, when a school opened in 1912 in the capital of Bandar Seri Begawan. This was followed by a number of other schools in other towns. The curriculum at the time was limited. Only boys were taught basics such as reading, writing and arithmetic, with a few extras such as history and geography taught occasionally.

This encouraged some of the immigrant communities to start their own schools, and the first English school opened in 1931. School was not obligatory at that time though in 1929 the government introduced a limited compulsory attendance. In the mid 1960s secondary education began in Brunei. Since then the education system has been progressively improved and in 1984 bilingual education became compulsory, with both Malay and English both now widely used for teaching.

The Ministry of Education sets the curriculum which is common to all schools in Brunei. Primary school education is free to the children of citizens, though immigrants can apply to send their children to these schools as fee paying pupils. However, the children of expats are mainly educated in private schools or in schools in other countries. The level of education in Brunei is now considered to be excellent and the literacy rates are higher than they have ever been so choosing a school in the country would not be a bad decision.

The school year is divided into four terms which run from January to December. Children spend 12 years in formal education which consists of 7 years of primary education (one of these at kindergarten level) and 5 years of secondary education. The same public examinations are available to all children.

Religious education is widely taught though is from an Islamic point of view and all schools have facilities for teaching sciences and technical subjects. Other subjects which are compulsory include foreign languages – usually English and Arabic, although others are taught as well – and maths. Many schools are committed to offering extra-curricular activities to children such as sports clubs.

There is the provision of higher education for those who do well at secondary school and provision is made for those children who have special educational needs. University education is somewhat limited though, and most children who wish to work for a degree will study abroad, with most travelling to the UK or the USA.

The Brunei government is committed to continuous improvement of the education system and will adapt it and add to the curriculum when it is deemed necessary, also providing any facilities that the schools need.