Introduction
Teach For Malaysia is an independent nonprofit organisation working to reduce educational inequity and expand access to quality education for children across Malaysia. The organisation develops teachers, graduates, education professionals, students, volunteers and community leaders who can improve learning opportunities in schools and communities, particularly those serving low-income and underserved populations.
Teach For Malaysia operates legally as TFM Foundation, registration number 919785-P. It identifies itself as a registered charity and a Ministry of Finance tax-exempt organisation. It is also a partner of Malaysia’s Ministry of Education and a member of the international Teach For All network. Teach For All describes its partners as independent, locally led organisations that exchange knowledge and adapt solutions to their national contexts.
The organisation’s long-term ambition is to build a movement of 30,000 leaders by 2030. These leaders are expected to work collectively to help children from underserved communities realise their potential through quality education. Teach For Malaysia’s approach combines classroom teaching, teacher professional development, student leadership, volunteering, community engagement and education-system partnerships.
Although the organisation’s registered name includes the word “Foundation,” Teach For Malaysia is not primarily a conventional grantmaking foundation. It does not operate like an academic research foundation that regularly announces open research grants or basic research funding opportunities. Instead, it receives donations, grants, sponsorships and partnership funding and uses those resources to implement education programs.
This distinction is important for interns, researchers, nonprofit professionals and potential partners. Teach For Malaysia is best understood as an education-focused operating charity rather than an enterprise foundation created to distribute corporate funds or finance external research projects.
History and Background
Origins of Teach For Malaysia
Teach For Malaysia was co-founded by Dzameer Dzulkifli and Keeran Sivarajah. The idea began in 2009 when the founders decided to address educational inequity in Malaysia by developing a leadership program inspired by similar education movements in other countries.
Teach For Malaysia’s organisational journey officially began on 26 October 2010. It was publicly launched on 24 December 2010 as part of national efforts connected to developing and retaining talent under Malaysia’s Tenth Malaysia Plan.
The first Teach For Malaysia cohort began teaching in 2012. The inaugural cohort consisted of 44 Fellows placed in schools in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan. These Fellows worked in schools while receiving leadership development, pedagogical training, coaching and professional support.
Early growth and geographic expansion
Teach For Malaysia gradually expanded its Fellowship into additional regions:
- In 2013, the organisation expanded to Perak, Penang and Kedah.
- In 2014, it expanded to Pahang and established its Alumni network after the first cohort completed the Fellowship.
- In 2015, it expanded to Sarawak.
- In 2016, it expanded into Johor.
- In 2018, it expanded to Sabah.
- In 2019, it launched Program Duta Guru.
- In 2022, it introduced the Teaching Partner Pathway in primary schools and schools serving Orang Asli communities.
- In 2024, it introduced the Guru Muda Pathway and launched Program KALIS.
Evolution into a multi-program organisation
From 2012 to 2019, Teach For Malaysia focused mainly on its flagship Fellowship. The organisation later concluded that systemic educational change required a larger and more diverse movement involving existing teachers, students, government officials, volunteers and community members.
Teach For Malaysia launched its 2030 Strategy to expand beyond a single program. Its work is now organised around developing new education leaders, accelerating the development of existing leaders and mobilising people across the education ecosystem.
The organisation reports that it substantially expanded its movement during the first phase of the strategy. It introduced new teacher and student-development initiatives, responded to learning disruption during the COVID-19 pandemic and increased collaboration with public institutions, businesses, foundations and local communities.
Mission and Purpose
Vision
Teach For Malaysia’s vision is:
One day, all children in Malaysia will have the opportunity to realise their potential through quality education.
Mission
Its mission is:
To build a movement of leaders in the education ecosystem to empower all children in Malaysia to realise their potential.
Addressing educational inequity
Teach For Malaysia describes educational inequity as a complex problem shaped by socioeconomic circumstances, geographical differences, systemic barriers and prevailing beliefs about children’s potential.
Students from disadvantaged communities may experience limited access to learning resources, insufficient foundational literacy and numeracy, fewer enrichment opportunities, lower expectations and weaker access to professional networks. Teach For Malaysia believes that these conditions can restrict a child’s future even when the child has the ability and motivation to succeed.
The organisation’s 2024 Impact Report highlighted several challenges affecting Malaysian education. These included foundational learning gaps, declining student performance and differences in learning outcomes linked to socioeconomic status and geographical location.
Strategic approach
Teach For Malaysia organises its work around three strategic pillars.
Develop new leaders
The organisation recruits and prepares promising leaders who can provide quality education in high-need schools and communities. Participants receive pedagogical instruction, leadership development, coaching and practical classroom experience.
Accelerate existing education leaders
Teach For Malaysia works with teachers already serving within the public education system. These educators receive professional development designed to strengthen teaching practices, leadership skills, classroom innovation and student engagement.
Mobilise collective leadership
The organisation brings together students, parents, teachers, volunteers, Alumni, community leaders, businesses and public institutions. This wider movement is intended to create change beyond individual classrooms and support long-term education-system transformation.
Theory of change
Teach For Malaysia’s theory of change begins with recruiting and developing diverse leaders. These leaders work directly in high-need communities, where they help students develop academic capabilities, leadership skills, values and confidence.
Over time, participants become part of a broader movement of education champions. Fellows, Alumni, teachers, student leaders, volunteers and community members work at different levels of the education system to advance a shared vision of educational equity.
Contribution to sustainable development
Teach For Malaysia identifies its work as contributing primarily to:
- Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality Education
- Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
- Sustainable Development Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Its contribution is delivered through education programs and cross-sector partnerships rather than conventional basic research funding or externally administered academic research grants.
Governance and Structure
Legal structure
Teach For Malaysia operates through TFM Foundation. It is a nonprofit, registered charity and tax-exempt organisation rather than a commercially owned enterprise.
The organisation does not have shareholder ownership in the same way as a private company. Its resources are intended to advance its charitable mission, and any income or donations received are used to support programs, operations, fundraising and organisational sustainability.
Teach For Malaysia should therefore not be described as a corporate enterprise foundation owned by a parent business. Although companies and corporate foundations provide financial and strategic support, the organisation is independently governed.
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees provides strategic oversight and works with the Senior Leadership Team to ensure that the organisation remains aligned with its mission and core values.
Teach For Malaysia’s official leadership page identifies YAM Tunku Ali Redhauddin ibni Tuanku Muhriz as Chairman and Founding Trustee.
Other trustees listed by the organisation include:
- Chen Li-Kai
- Dato’ Tharuma Rajah
- Shahnaz Al-Sadat Mohsein
- Datuk Yvonne Chia
- YBhg. Datuk Dr. Habibah Abdul Rahim
The trustees bring experience in education reform, public policy, finance, governance, corporate leadership, human-resource development, social enterprise and institutional transformation.
Board committees
Teach For Malaysia’s governance structure includes specialised board responsibilities related to:
- Audit and risk
- Remuneration
- Trustee nominations
- Organisational strategy
- Financial accountability
Datuk Yvonne Chia is identified as Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee, while Dato’ Tharuma Rajah is identified as Chair of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee.
These committees help the organisation oversee financial controls, leadership appointments, risk management and responsible use of resources.
Executive leadership
Teach For Malaysia’s Chief Executive Officer is Chan Soon Seng. He joined the inaugural Teach For Malaysia cohort in 2012 before moving into organisational leadership.
His experience as a Fellow gives him direct knowledge of the challenges faced by teachers and students in low-income communities. His stated vision emphasises holistic education that develops students academically, socially, emotionally, physically, spiritually and as leaders.
The Senior Leadership Team oversees areas such as:
- Fellowship recruitment and development
- Program Duta Guru
- Strategy and education ecosystems
- Partnerships and organisational growth
- Talent and operations
- Community mobilisation
- Communications and fundraising
Transparency and accountability
Teach For Malaysia publishes impact reports and audited financial statements on its website. The organisation states that financial reports are published annually to support public transparency and accountability.
For an intern, this governance model provides exposure to how nonprofit organisations balance program implementation, donor accountability, financial management, impact measurement, board oversight and public reporting.
Funding and Grants
Main funding mechanisms
Teach For Malaysia relies on financial support from a mixture of public, private and philanthropic sources.
Its funding mechanisms include:
- Government and public-sector partnerships
- Corporate sponsorships
- Charitable and corporate foundations
- Individual donations
- Institutional grants
- Fundraising campaigns
- Program-specific partnerships
- In-kind contributions and professional support
Teach For Malaysia has historically stated that its Fellowship is supported through the Ministry of Education, corporations, foundations and individual donors. It has also emphasised the importance of diversifying its sources of funding to strengthen long-term sustainability.
2024 financial position
Teach For Malaysia reported total income of RM18.6 million in 2024.
The organisation’s income consisted of:
- RM18.3 million in donations, representing 98.4% of total income
- RM0.3 million in other income, representing 1.6% of total income
Its reported expenditure for 2024 was also RM18.6 million:
- RM15.4 million, or 82.8%, was spent on programs
- RM2.2 million, or 11.8%, was spent on operations
- RM1 million, or 5.4%, was spent on fundraising
Teach For Malaysia states that it is audited annually and that its management seeks to keep general and administrative expenditure below 30% of total annual expenses.
How funding is used
Donations, grants and sponsorships may support:
- Recruiting and selecting Fellows
- Pre-service teacher preparation
- Fellow salaries and placements
- Leadership and pedagogical training
- Professional coaching
- Teacher-development programs
- Student-leadership initiatives
- Tutoring and learning-recovery programs
- Community projects
- Educational resources
- Volunteer recruitment and training
- Program monitoring and evaluation
- Impact reporting and organisational administration
Teach For Malaysia states that donor support helps it recruit and train educators, expand into additional communities, improve impact measurement and strengthen relationships with schools and local stakeholders.
Does Teach For Malaysia offer research grants?
Teach For Malaysia does not publicly present itself as a major external grantmaking organisation. It does not appear to operate a permanent open-call program offering basic research funding to universities, academics or independent researchers.
The organisation does conduct or use research, monitoring, evaluation and education-policy analysis. Its 2030 Strategy includes an ambition to become a leading voice in national education discussions through high-quality research and advocacy. However, this is different from administering a conventional research grants portfolio.
Researchers interested in working with Teach For Malaysia may be more likely to find opportunities involving:
- Program evaluation
- Education-policy research
- Data analysis
- Monitoring, evaluation and learning
- Teacher-development studies
- Student-outcome assessment
- Research partnerships
- Knowledge sharing
- Impact reporting
Any external funding opportunity should be confirmed through the organisation’s official website or partnership team. The presence of the word “Foundation” in its legal name should not be interpreted as evidence that it routinely finances independent research proposals.
Philanthropic activities
Teach For Malaysia’s philanthropic activities focus mainly on mobilising financial, professional and community resources to improve educational outcomes.
Its work allows businesses, foundations and individual donors to support activities such as teacher training, STEM education, student leadership, learning recovery, digital literacy and community-based education.
This operating model differs from that of an enterprise foundation that simply distributes grants on behalf of a corporation. Teach For Malaysia develops and implements its own programs while collaborating with funding and implementation partners.
Major Programs and Initiatives
Teach For Malaysia Fellowship
The Teach For Malaysia Fellowship is the organisation’s flagship leadership-development program.
It is a full-time, fully paid, two-year program that gives participants classroom experience, leadership training, coaching and opportunities to engage with schools and local communities. The program is designed to prepare participants to create change in classrooms, communities and the wider education system.
The Fellowship currently includes two pathways.
Teaching Partner Pathway
Participants under the Teaching Partner Pathway are employed by Teach For Malaysia and placed in high-need schools for two years.
Teach For Malaysia states that Fellows generally divide their time among:
- Classroom teaching
- Community-engagement projects
- Personal and professional development
Fellows collaborate with existing teachers to improve classroom environments and learning outcomes for students with different backgrounds and learning needs.
Guru Muda Pathway
The Guru Muda Pathway is designed for newer teachers employed by Malaysia’s Ministry of Education.
The pathway develops teachers’ leadership, classroom facilitation and ability to implement innovative teaching practices. It also seeks to improve student motivation, school attendance and aspirations.
Program Duta Guru
Program Duta Guru is a national STEM teacher-development initiative established by Yayasan PETRONAS and the Ministry of Education.
Teach For Malaysia and Petrosains serve as implementation partners. The initiative aims to empower 4,500 teachers by 2030 to become capable and committed STEM role models.
The two-year program provides:
- Intensive teacher training
- Individual and group coaching
- STEM teaching strategies
- Higher-order thinking skills development
- Professional learning networks
- Project-based learning
- Engineering design methods
- Action research
- STEM innovation projects
Program Duta Guru uses a hybrid learning model and provides continuous support through coaches, program coordinators and education officers.
Community Mobilisation
Teach For Malaysia’s Community Mobilisation work recruits, develops and connects students, parents, volunteers, community members, local leaders and Fellowship Alumni.
The objective is to create a broad movement in which people at different levels of society contribute to educational equity.
Key initiatives include:
Student Leadership Camp
The Student Leadership Camp develops leadership competencies and design-thinking skills among students.
Since 2013, the initiative has developed 888 student leaders who implemented 153 student-led projects across three Malaysian regions.
Program Komuniti Perkasa
Program Komuniti Perkasa is supported by CIMB Foundation. It helps students identify challenges in their communities and design practical solutions.
In 2024, the program developed 130 student leaders who implemented 29 initiatives across four PPR communities with support from volunteer mentors.
Suara Anak Malaysia
Suara Anak Malaysia provides a platform for students to express their views, develop leadership skills and work with adults on social and environmental challenges.
In 2024, students participated in workshops, leadership activities and a Youth Innovation Challenge. The initiative supported student-led campaigns and brought students, educators and community stakeholders together at a national summit.
We Think Digital
We Think Digital is a collaboration involving Teach For Malaysia, Meta and Malaysia’s Ministry of Education.
The initiative promotes digital literacy, responsible digital citizenship and student-led awareness campaigns. Participants complete learning modules and develop campaign proposals addressing digital issues.
Education Recovery Tutoring Initiative
The Education Recovery Tutoring Initiative is supported by Yayasan Hasanah.
It was created to address pandemic-related learning loss among 600 students from six PPR communities. The year-long initiative also trains volunteer tutors and community leaders to contribute to educational recovery.
Program KALIS
Program KALIS stands for Kemahiran Asas Literasi dan Numerasi.
Teach For Malaysia launched the initiative in 2024 to strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy. It supports remedial teachers involved in Malaysia’s broader learning-recovery efforts.
In its first year, 105 remedial teachers from six districts in Johor joined the program.
Alumni movement
Participants who complete the Fellowship become part of Teach For Malaysia’s Alumni network.
Some Alumni remain in teaching or school leadership, while others work in government, nonprofit organisations, social enterprises, education technology, business or public policy.
The long-term objective is for Alumni to continue advancing educational equity regardless of their profession. Teach For Malaysia therefore treats the Fellowship as the beginning of a leadership journey rather than only a two-year teaching placement.
Internship and Campus Leader opportunities
Teach For Malaysia offers opportunities for university students to participate as interns or Campus Leaders.
Interns are assigned practical responsibilities and work with staff on projects connected to education, nonprofit management and organisational development. The organisation states that interns receive exposure to the nonprofit and education sectors and contribute to meaningful projects.
Possible areas of internship experience may include:
- Program management
- Communications and marketing
- Fundraising
- Corporate partnerships
- Finance and operations
- Volunteer management
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Research and reporting
- Recruitment
- Data analysis
- Community engagement
Campus Leaders serve as university-based ambassadors who promote Teach For Malaysia’s mission and encourage students and graduates to learn about the Fellowship.
Impact and Examples of Work Funded
Cumulative impact
Teach For Malaysia’s 2024 Impact Report stated that its movement had grown to more than 4,000 leaders and had reached approximately 496,000 students since 2012.
The reported cumulative movement included:
- 529 Fellows and Alumni
- 1,364 Program Duta Guru participants
- 1,981 student leaders
- 105 Program KALIS teachers
- 784 volunteers, mentors and community leaders
- 1,215 schools and PPR communities
More than 90% of the participating schools were described as high-need schools, including schools serving Indigenous communities.
Teach For Malaysia’s website currently displays a cumulative figure of 503,035 students impacted, indicating continued growth beyond the reporting point used in the 2024 Impact Report.
Impact during 2024
Teach For Malaysia reported that its programs reached more than 140,000 students across approximately 700 schools and communities during 2024.
Key activities included:
- 39 Fellows completing the first year of the Fellowship
- 22 Fellows continuing into their second year
- 454 teachers joining Program Duta Guru
- 411 Program Duta Guru teachers graduating
- 942 student leaders being empowered
- 105 KALIS teachers being onboarded
- 376 volunteers, mentors and community leaders being engaged
Program Duta Guru outcomes
Between 2020 and 2024, Program Duta Guru reached:
- 1,364 teachers
- 946 schools
- 229 district officers
- 13 states and three federal territories
- Approximately 341,100 students
The 2024 report stated that 53% of participating schools were located in rural areas and that 88% served student populations in which the majority came from B40 backgrounds.
Teach For Malaysia’s analysis of participant-reported data found that among students taught by one Program Duta Guru cohort:
- 63% demonstrated an increase in classroom-assessment proficiency.
- 65% demonstrated positive attitudes toward STEM.
- A substantial proportion reported applying higher-order thinking skills.
These results should be understood as program monitoring findings based on data reported by participants rather than as conclusions from an independent experimental study.
StarZ Library
One example of a funded community project is the StarZ Library in PPR Seri Alam.
Students identified a lack of study resources and quiet learning spaces in their community. With support from community leaders, mentors and project funding, they repurposed shelves, collected book donations and established a community library.
The library is managed by students and provides children with an accessible space for reading and studying.
Program Komuniti Perkasa projects
Program Komuniti Perkasa reached four PPR communities in 2024.
The program reported:
- 214 students reached
- 130 student leaders developed
- 29 student-led community initiatives launched
- 44 volunteer mentors engaged
- 61% of students showing growth in at least one measured leadership competency
These projects demonstrate how philanthropic activities and corporate-foundation support can be converted into student-led solutions rather than distributed only as traditional grants.
Suara Anak Malaysia projects
In 2024, the Suara Anak Malaysia initiative provided leadership training and opportunities for young people to address environmental and social issues.
The initiative reported:
- 722 students participating in workshops
- 399 students completing a leadership microsite
- 29 student-led initiatives being implemented
- 147 student participants representing nine states
- 92% of surveyed students reporting that they felt more empowered to act on social issues
COVID-19 education response
During the COVID-19 period, Teach For Malaysia worked to expand access to remote learning.
Its response included:
- A distance-learning website
- Digital education resources
- Support for online learning
- Zero Tech Learning Boxes for communities with limited connectivity
- Community-based learning interventions
The organisation reported that these efforts helped increase student access to learning during school disruption.
Recognition
Teach For Malaysia received the 2022 Merdeka Award in the Education and Community category.
It was also ranked first in the Education and Training sector at the Graduan Brand Awards in 2024, a position it had previously held in 2015 and 2016.
Conclusion
Teach For Malaysia has evolved from a graduate teaching Fellowship into a multi-program education organisation working across classrooms, schools, communities and the wider public education system.
Its activities include teacher recruitment, leadership development, STEM education, foundational literacy and numeracy, student leadership, digital literacy, tutoring, volunteer engagement and community mobilisation.
Teach For Malaysia operates as an independently governed nonprofit charity. It does not have conventional commercial ownership and should not be confused with an enterprise foundation controlled by a private company.
Its funding comes from government partnerships, corporations, charitable foundations, institutional grants and individual donations. Most of this funding is used to operate programs directly rather than being distributed through a general external research grants scheme.
While Teach For Malaysia values research, evidence, monitoring and policy advocacy, it is not primarily a source of basic research funding. Universities and researchers should approach it as a potential education research, evaluation or implementation partner rather than assume that it offers unrestricted academic grants.
For interns, Teach For Malaysia provides a practical environment for understanding:
- Nonprofit governance
- Education-program design
- Corporate and foundation partnerships
- Fundraising and donor communication
- Community engagement
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Research and reporting
- Leadership development
- Communications and advocacy
- Financial and impact accountability
For more information, visit here.
