An explorative overview of basic education in Brunei Darussalam.

Formal education in Brunei Darussalam has evolved from pre-and post-colonial times. Recent reforms in education occurred when the country launched the National Education System for the 21^st Century (SPN21) in 2009. The SPN21 transformed educational delivery, especially in the nature, structure, curriculum, and assessment, while improving quality, access, and educational inclusion. It focused on training students to become lifelong learners with the skills and competencies needed for the 21^st Century societal community, job market and progressive contributors to the country's vision success. Given that a solid basic education is a foundation and a necessary condition for further education, this paper highlights how basic education in Brunei Darussalam has evolved. It describes the nature, curriculum, structure, and assessment approaches and provides information on the key challenges hindering effective educational delivery at the basic level. In sum, this paper highlights the need to strengthen the development of academic literacy skills, consistent monitoring, effective leadership development programmes, access, inclusion, and equity in the provision of basic education in Brunei Darussalam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]