Malaysia ‘increasingly attractive’ as international education hub

Malaysia will thrive as an international education hub if it does not repeat the mistakes of its principal competitors, a Kuala Lumpur forum has heard.

International education veteran Michael Fay said Malaysia must “learn the lessons currently being played out in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the UK”, and avoid recruiting overseas students in unsustainable numbers.

“Over-commercialisation of international education eventually ends in tears,” Mr Fay told the THE Campus Live SE Asia event. “If you eat the golden goose, there will be no more golden eggs.”

Malaysia, which has long harboured ambitions to be a major player in international education, is edging closer to its longstanding target of 250,000 foreign enrolments. It has been assisted by migration crackdowns in the major anglophone destinations and a creeping desire among Chinese students to keep close to home.

Mr Fay has championed Asian-Australian educational links as a language college founder, business consultant and – since last November – special adviser to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) University Network. The educational allure of Malaysia can only increase, he predicted.

“It’s at the crossroads of South-east Asia. It has a commitment to quality. It has many existing partnerships with universities from all over the world. It’s multicultural, it’s safe, it’s secure and it’s value for money. The world is already here,” he said.

Mr Fay said cultural reverence for education, rooted in “Confucian, Hindu and Islamic values”, was another strength of Malaysia and the region more broadly. So was “the tradition of community engagement”, particularly among higher education institutions.

These attributes would be needed in the struggle against the “key” challenge confronting the region, he warned. He told the forum, hosted by oil industry-linked Universiti Teknologi Petronas, that South-east Asia was faltering in the drive to reduce carbon emissions.

Fossil fuel availability was hampering progress, he said. “Entrenched interests are reluctant to change.” Cash-strapped Asean member Laos, where about three-quarters of energy comes from hydro power, had proven that an “alternative pathway” was possible.

“Respect for science and evidence-based conclusions in relation to climate change requires all universities to speak up,” he warned.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com