KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 — Only one out of 20 ethnic Indians born to parents who were not formally educated would proceed to get tertiary education, Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) found in a new study.

In KRI’s report on socio-economic mobility, the minority group was also found to have a bleaker view of their next generation’s future, while at the same time moving up the economical ladder slower compared to other ethnicities.

For Indians born to parents without formal education, only 5 per cent of them have tertiary education, way below the numbers for the Bumiputera (33 per cent) and the ethnic Chinese (44 per cent).

The number remains low even among those born to parents with primary education, with only 13 per cent of them continuing to have tertiary education. This contrasted with the Chinese (37 per cent), and the Bumiputera (38 per cent).

Indians also reported lesser optimism on their children’s socio-economic situation, compared to their own.

While 74 per cent of both the Bumiputera and Chinese believed their children would fare better in the future — same as the national average — only 64 per cent of Indians felt the same about their kids.

Indians also scored lowest in terms of having a better set of skills compared to their parents.

Among those born to low-skill parents, only 19 per cent are now in the high-skill category, lower than the Bumiputera (25 per cent) and the Chinese (39 per cent).

Among children who were born to parents in the bottom 20 per cent income category, or the bottom quintile, only 62 per cent had managed to move up the ladder by at least one quintile.

In comparison, 73 per cent among the Bumiputera have moved up at least a quintile, while for the Chinese, 90 per cent of them have moved up the ladder.

The study had earlier found that Malaysians are receiving better education and earning more at a faster rate compared to their parents, a new study on socio-economic mobility.

In the first large-scale inter-generational mobility study in Malaysia, KRI found that Malaysians has a high rate of mobility in education, occupation and economy compared to the previous generation.