ONLY 34 private higher education institutions (IPTS) in the country have been given permission to recruit students from China.
Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Fu Ah Kiow said the limitation on the number of IPTS allowed this privilege was to ensure that there was no abuse of student visas.
“We have encountered a number of cases of abuse. That is why we need to minimise the number of IPTS allowed to source for students from China,” he said after witnessing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities (MAPCU) and China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) at Nilai International College recently.
MAPCU was represented by its president Tengku Shamsul Bahrin and CEAIE by its president Liu Bin.
Fu said that in the past, foreign students have indulged in unhealthy activities on the pretext of studying here but the IPTS have remained silent on the issue.
“The ministry has set up a monitoring board to oversee the activities of the IPTS and will repeal the privilege in cases of abuse,” he said.
Currently, there are 35,000 foreign students pursuing their education at IPTS here, of which 10,100 are Chinese nationals. However, the ministry is still considering applications from IPTS interested in recruiting foreign students. – BY R.S.N. MURALI
