Dr Hou (second left) talking with private institutions of higher learning management committee in Kota Kinabalu. — Bernama photo
KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia - In a bid to make Malaysia an education hub for Southeast Asia, the Higher Education Ministry targets 120,000 foreign students in local varsities by 2015.
Deputy Minister Dr Hou Kok Chung said the prospect was bright based on the ministry’s statistics until Dec 31, 2009, which indicated that they had already achieved the 80,000 student target for this year, of which 58,294 were enrolled in private universities and 22,456 in public universities.
Source: Borneo Post
Deputy Minister Dr Hou Kok Chung said the prospect was bright based on the ministry’s statistics until Dec 31, 2009, which indicated that they had already achieved the 80,000 student target for this year, of which 58,294 were enrolled in private universities and 22,456 in public universities.
- Foreign students in the country come from 182 different countries, with the majority of 10,932 coming from Iran, followed by Indonesia and China.
- “We have seen a positive development in our local varsities in the past 10 years with improvements in various areas and a decrease in complaints received. This will not only ensure that foreign students are taken care of, but also our local students.
- “So, with good governance, good image and a selection of quality courses we should be able to attract foreigners to study here,” Dr Hou told reporters after a meeting with private institutions of higher learning (IPTS) in Sabah yesterday.
- In his speech, Dr Hou said that to strengthen the IPTS by 2015, it was important to ensure that there was no difference between the IPTS and public institutions of higher learning (IPTA) in terms of the standard of academic programmes, as well as establishing several elite IPTS to attract future graduates.
- He said these institutions were required to obtain a minimum three-star rating from the Rating System for Malaysian Higher Education Institutions (Setara), to ensure that the country was a top 10 destination for foreign students through affordable quality education.
- He added that the IPTAs nationwide had been evaluated by Setara and evaluation on the IPTS was ongoing and expected to be completed by year-end.
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