PUTRAJAYA: The government welcomes the arrival of foreign students intending to pursue their studies in Malaysia as this move can help raise the image of the country as a regional education hub.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said this today, adding that government is targeting to host 200,000 foreign students here by 2020.
“We see that the education sector has potential to be a main contributor to the country’s revenue.
“To date, a total of 159,172 foreign students are currently studying in various education institutions in Malaysia. This contributes to the country’s economy with RM7.8 billion a year spent by the students furthering their studies here,” he said in a statement issued after chairing the High-Level Meeting on Foreign Student Intake, today.
The meeting saw representatives from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Home Affairs Ministry, Higher Education Ministry (MOHE), Education Ministry, Immigration Department and Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) discussing in detail on the admission of foreign students as well as current developments.
Taking into consideration challenging global security issues, Zahid said that the government is always on step ahead.
“We take into account global safety issues. The government always take proactive measures including early screening prior to admission, monitoring operations during the students’ stay in the country,” he said.
He also pointed out that public safety remains high priority and that all foreign students who wish to further their studies in Malaysia would need to undergo several academic and safety screenings to ensure they are competent and qualified to study in the country.
At the same time, the government also stresses on the need to ensure that these foreign students will be able attain quality education here and have their welfare looked after.
Zahid, who is also Home Minister, said this is the role of EMGS, which is established as a non-profit Guaranteed Limited Company under the MOHE to ensure a smooth process of foreign students’ intake.
The EGMS also conducts marketing, promotion and recruitment management for international students to Malaysia.
“EMGS will work closely with the Immigration Department and plays the role as a one-stop centre for international student affairs.
“With the collaboration between the agencies, foreign student management in Malaysia can be carried out effectively and systematically,” he said, adding that the existing procedures should be streamlined to ensure a smooth admission process of the foreign students.