KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is introducing new measures to strengthen its position as a regional higher education hub, including a centralised admissions system for international students and a 10-year blueprint for the sector.
Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said a new 10-year Higher Education Plan and an updated Internationalisation Policy would help chart the way forward as universities compete for global talent.
"We are putting together the Malaysia University Centralised Admissions System to improve efficiency, accessibility, transparency and competitiveness in attracting international students," he told the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Dec 4).
He said the ministry would also streamline the processing of applications through Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) and reinforce the role of international student offices in every university as one-stop centres for welfare, housing, health matters and cultural activities.
"At the same time, we will not compromise on the quality of higher education. The Malaysian Qualifications Agency is strengthening its work to ensure academic standards and university capacity continue to improve," he said, adding that the same effort would be extended to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
Mustapha said promotional efforts through Education Malaysia offices abroad were being stepped up, especially in West Asia, Africa and South Asia. Malaysia’s role as Asean Chair this year, he noted, had helped lift the country’s profile further.
He said Malaysia’s improved performance in global rankings, including the QS World University Rankings, was already attracting more interest from abroad.
Lee Chuan How (PH-Ipoh Timor) had asked how the government ensured that the rise in international student numbers contributed to academic quality, research output, campus safety and accreditation, without stretching university resources or limiting opportunities for local students.
Mustapha stressed that the government’s priority remained unchanged.
"Our focus will always be on our children – Malaysian students. That is not something we will compromise.
"We aim to expand international enrolment mainly at the postgraduate level, especially in research, where foreign expertise can add value. But for undergraduate or mainstream programmes, priority remains with Malaysians," he said.
He added that 20 public universities enrolled 53,322 international students last year, with Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) taking in the most.
The three institutions collectively registered 27,669 international students, largely from China, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Across all public universities, 13,986 were undergraduates – about 2.3% of total enrolment – while 39,336 (6.4%) were postgraduate students.
A total of 6,988 international undergraduates were enrolled at UM, UKM and USM, including 5,812 from China, 528 from Indonesia, and 144 from Bangladesh.
At the postgraduate level, the three universities had 20,681 international students, led by 14,711 from China, 912 from Iraq, and 684 from Indonesia, Mustapha added.
