KUALA LUMPUR: A British Council survey has named Malaysia as "best performer" in national policies on openness to international higher education along with Germany.
The 'Shape of Global Higher Education: National Policies Framework for International Engagement' report published today, examined policies in 26 nations by assessing them against 37 qualitative indicators.
Times Higher Education (THE) quoted British Council research manager Michael Peak saying that Malaysia and Germany had the most balanced portfolio in providing high-level support for international engagement.
Other key findings from the research were that financial support from governments was “mainly focused on student mobility and policies aimed at ensuring equitable access and brain drain prevention”.
Universiti Utara Malaysia Associate Professor Dr Haim Hilman Abdullah said the recognition was a result of the government urging Research Universities (RU) to strive themselves to become ranked by international ranking bodies like QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) and THE.
"The achievement was also due to the government's continuous commitment in allocating a significant budget for the education sector which enabled our universities to have good facilities and well trained academic staff... more than 85 per cent of academic staff at RUs are PhD holders."
Haim added that for the country to sustain its ranking, the Higher Education Ministry must give special incentives for non-RUs that made the ranking list to motivate them to strive for excellence. He said currently, incentives were only given to RUs.
Universiti Utara Malaysia vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Seri Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak said the bold decision made by the government to make Malaysia an education hub for the region has proven to be fruitful.
"The fact that our universities are mostly under 100 years old, still young, but is still able to accomplish such recognition is something to be proud of.
"What made Malaysia a preferred destination for higher education was due to our political stability, quality of education, equality and social mobility," he said, adding that affordable fees, visa flexibility and privatisation of universities also contributed towards realising the country's goal in becoming a regional hub.
Mustafa however said better funding could be considered for the industry to improve its research, publication and centre of excellence, which would propel universities forward.
Universiti Sains Malaysia School of Civil Engineering dean Professor Dr Ahmad Farhan Mohd Sadullah said in the past, private colleges had been the main entry point for international undergraduates but the situation has changed as public universities recognised the importance of international students.
He said Malaysia needed to provide a global experience to local graduates by bringing in quality international undergraduates.
"Global quality assurance is critical. As an example, all engineering programmes in Malaysia are subject to the Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC) which is Washington Accord-compliant to assure our engineering graduates can work in many other countries."
Apart from Malaysia and Germany, others in the top five are the United Kingdom, Australia and China.