A new company backed by the Malaysian government has been set up to act as a "gateway to studying in Malaysia" by processing all student visa applications, ensuring insurance coverage is purchased and providing information on government approved courses.
The University of Reading, UK, has begun construction on its first overseas campus in Malaysia. The campus will be based at EduCity Iskandar, a 600-acre education and R&D hub designed to encourage partnerships between education and industry.
Malaysia has announced a two year moratorium on new private tertiary institutions with the aim to raise its status as an educational hub. "Highly rated" foreign campuses are exempt from the freeze. Currently there are 414 private colleges in the country - a figure Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin considers too high.
The first ever university branch campus backed by the Chinese State is to be established in Malaysia, one of Asia's fastest growing education hubs. Xiamen University, a top twenty higher education institution in China, plans to open a five-faculty campus in September 2015. The move reflects the growing trend for Asians to study within their own region.
Education officials in Malaysia say that an agreement signed with China in 2011 to promote educational ties has resulted in a significant increase in student mobility between the two countries. There are about 10,000 Chinese students in Malaysia which officials hope could grow by 50% to 100%.
Foreign education providers will be allowed to expand into Malaysia's vocational education sector, the government has announced, as it aims to increase economic growth by 2020 and alleviate major skills shortages. However, international institutions will face challenges to recruit students in the country, given only around 10% of secondary schools age students go into vocational and technical streams.
All 70,000 English language teachers working in Malaysia will have to pass the Cambridge Placement Test within two years it was announced by the Ministry of Education earlier last month. It is hoped the move will transform the education system in the country to produce more globally competitive students.
Education hub Malaysia is to impose new restrictions on international students entering the country to crack down on visa fraud, and has set up a new body to oversee the enrolment process.
