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How is Malaysia doing as an international education hub?

In addition to these fundamentals, Malaysia boasts low crime rates, first-world standard health and infrastructure, and the cachet of being a melting pot of three Asian cultures. It also has the advantage of over its closest competitors, Thailand and Singapore, of being a predominantly Islamic country, which explains its large appeal in the Middle East.

International students in Malaysia

“International pathways have always been a driving force of the education market"

But while this all spells clear potential, lingering obstacles could scupper Malaysia’s plans. Despite its lofty goals, recruitment growth isn’t moving as fast as expected. The MOHE says the country is not likely to reach an initial target of 150,000 students by 2015 and is hoping more realistically for 100,000.

This may owe to several factors. First, Malaysia faces considerable competition from near neighbour Singapore – a smaller but richer country with more quality universities. China is also rising quickly while Australia, which also orbits Asia, remains a market leader.

To change this Malaysia needs to raise its reputation for quality of its higher education. “We aspire to become an education hub in the region, but to do that we have to work on our fundamentals,” says Mira Aisa, special officer to the director general at MOHE. “People choose the UK and US because their universities have built up their reputations, research over many years. We have some way to catch up in that respect.”

While a number of Malaysian universities are said to compete on a par with the country’s branch campuses, none make the Time Higher Education’s top 200 list. This compares poorly with three such universities on the Chinese mainland, three in South Korea, two in Singapore and one in Taiwan.

The idea of a new cultural embassy akin to the British Council is being floated

Despite the obstacles, those involved in Malaysian international education remain hopeful that the country will realise its ambitions in time. The MOHE is working to develop Malaysia’s academics to bring up the quality of universities while marketing abroad continues apace, with the idea of a new cultural embassy akin to the British Council being floated.

Foreign interest is also growing, with Newcastle University opening a medical campus last month and Herriott Watt set to open a site in the next few years. A ranking system that benchmarks branch campuses against domestic universities will also help sell homegrown universities abroad in time.

“Malaysia has a great potential to grow and explore in higher education,” says Pashby. “The country is a new emerging economy and there is current a strong global focus on Asia. Malaysia is also benefiting from the global attention.”

International students in Malaysia

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