IN THE PRESS
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August 20, 2010 17:13 PM
Make Malaysia Regional Education Hub, Minister Tells Higher Education Institutions KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin wants higher education institutions to double their efforts to make Malaysia the regional education hub. He said the country was well-placed to give neighbouring countries a run for the money to host international students, with its strategic location, political stability, cultural diversity, good education facilities and strong affordable programmes. However, a few neighbouring countries were similarly slanted towards becoming regional education hubs, he noted. Mohamed Khaled said Singapore was targeting to increase the enrolment of international students in its institutions from 97,000 in 2008 to 150,000 in 2015. Thailand, on the other hand, aimed to become a higher education hub for the Greater Mekong sub-region by 2016, and a hub for Southeast Asia by 2026. "So, we must double the efforts to make ours the universities of choice to achieve the ministry's target of 150,000 international students by 2015," he said while opening the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) 11th Convocation here today. His speech was read by Deputy Director-General (Private Higher Education Management Sector) Datin Prof Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir. To compete with the neighbouring countries, the minister suggested that Malaysia improve teaching quality, graduate employability and ensure a rich and rewarding experience for students. "We must also be able to attract the best brains and talents to teach and carry out ground-breaking research here to raise the standard of local institutions." He said the government's move to allow foreign universities to establish campuses in the country had helped local universities engage in healthy competitions which led to improvements. "This is something which we must continually work towards, to propel our institutions to be among the best in the world," said Mohamed Khaled. He urged universities to foster closer links with the industry to help academicians keep abreast with the latest developments in the private sector, and advance knowledge through joint research, particularly in engineering, technology and bio-technology. At the convocation, 491 graduands, including 14 post-graduate students, received their scroll. -- BERNAMA Source: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=522756 |
