How to become a preferred education hub

Wednesday, 11 November 2009 | Filed under Education

Malaysia can become one of the most preferred destinations for tertiary education in the world.

Just consider what we have that is working in our favour.

We have excellent infrastructure offering good amenities and facilities comparable with those in the developed countries.

English is widely spoken and used, and the learning of other languages is encouraged. 

We are a middle income economy working towards developed nation status and a role model nation for the developing world.

The standard of living is much more affordable than in many advanced countries.

Foreign students, especially from developing countries, come here seeking degrees awarded by internationally recognised English-medium universities through local partner colleges. They want to learn English, get a lower-priced education than that available in the developed countries, and study in a cultural environment that they feel more comfortable with.

Many countries in the developing world look to our experiences to learn and create similar outcomes. These are the countries that are sending their citizens to study in Malaysia.

Malaysia, being a developing country in transformation, offers a more suitable model for education to other developing countries.

When their students study here, the chances are they will be able to practise what they learn when they go home. When they study in a highly industrialised country, they may not be able to apply some of the systems and theories they learn on their return home to a developing country environment.

The delivery of education by people in any particular university is based on their experience and surroundings.
And the Western world, as we know, is a very expensive place and uses many tools not easily or cheaply available in developing countries.

Tailoring programmes for the developing world

Developing countries are creating their own brain drain by sending their best talents to study in the developed world. Many of these students eventually stay back in the developed countries after completing their studies because the quality of life, level of income and opportunities there are all more attractive than in their home countries.

Many of the emerging economies are struggling to catch up with the rest of the world.

Education for education’s sake is a luxury they can ill-afford.

Education in these countries has to be designed to create the kind of human capital that is needed to build their economy and improve their competitiveness. 

If Malaysia tailors our programmes for students from the developing world so innovatively that they just have to come here, then we will be ahead of the Western universities in meeting the needs of this market.

Getting 100,000 foreign students not difficult

Measures taken since the late 1990s have gone a long way to making Malaysia an important destination for international education.

And private colleges and universities have always been in the forefront of exporting Malaysian education, recruiting foreign students and building trust abroad in Malaysia and Malaysian institutions of higher learning.

Today, according to the Higher Education Ministry, Malaysia has attracted nearly 70,000 foreign students who come from more than 150 countries, making Malaysia currently the world’s 11th most preferred destination for international students.

The ministry’s target is to get 80,000 foreign students by 2010.

That number, however, would still be a tiny fraction of the more than 2.8 million students estimated by UNESCO to be studying outside their home countries. This figure is predicted to rise to 8 million international students by 2020.

Actually, Malaysia can get the number up to 100,000 and even higher quite easily.

All we need is a strategy to mobilise the efforts of the stakeholders to make the push together and systematically.

It should begin by encouraging the control system to embrace a culture of flexibility. There is no room for a rigid approach in education – or in any sphere of human endeavour that seeks to achieve outstanding outcomes.

If we aspire to be creative in the way we do things – and we must – we have to be prepared to accept that creativity means breaking the norm and not always following or conforming.

From the outset, international education in the country has been driven by the private sector.

The rapid growth of the private education industry is largely due to the hard work, creativity and quality of private institutions of higher learning.

The success of these institutions is proof that they are well run.

Their success in becoming the first choice of tertiary students and parents is proof that what they offer matches what the market wants.

To take the industry to the next level, it is essential that the education authorities be sensitive to market needs.

Regulations that limit the ability of universities to offer new programmes to meet market demand or to recruit foreign students will inhibit the drive to become a preferred education destination.

A welcoming ecosystem

An ecosystem to enable the country to build a reputation as a friendly host for international students must also be put in place.

It requires a change of the Malaysian mindset.

Foreign students, like all other foreign visitors, are guests in our country. They are also contributing to build the Malaysian economy.

Every Malaysian – from government officials to taxi drivers and operators of retail and food outlets – must take it upon themselves to be helpful and courteous when dealing with foreign students.

Most foreign students here are just coming out of their teens and moving into adulthood. They come from different countries with cultures very different from Malaysia’s. They are in a foreign land far from home and their loved ones. 

It is a critical time of their lives and Malaysians should help to look after them, and enable them to get the experience that they have come here to gain.

With greater understanding and commitment, Malaysia can become the kind of country where people want to send their children to be educated. Malaysia will be seen as a welcoming and safe environment for foreign students to grow up in and the right place for them to develop friendships.

We must accept that we cannot have the cake and eat it as well. We cannot say that we want to attract more foreign students and then treat them negatively or with hostility when they are here.

There is more than just immediate cash income involved in international education.

Having students from 150 countries is to have the opportunity to build lasting relationships with people from around the world. 

In an increasingly globally interactive world, insight into other cultures, cross-cultural communication and international connections represent intangible but valuable long-term benefits to Malaysian society and businesses.

If Malaysians wish to see the international education sector grow, then we must ensure our foreign guests take home good memories and good stories about their time in Malaysia.