‘Malaysia has earned name for centre of higher education’

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has earned a name for being a trusted and respected centre of higher education in the world, especially among Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) nations.
Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said this recognition is due to the government's National Higher Education Strategic Plan (2007-beyond 2020).
According to the Education Malaysia Global Services statistics this year, there are 116,000 international students from 160 nations who are studying in public and private higher learning institutes in the country and 78% of them are from OIC countries, he said.
Malaysia is a favourable education destination as the universities here offer high-quality education, charge reasonable and affordable fees and the standard of living in the country is relatively low.
"We have raised the bar on the quality of our higher education, which is an appealing factor to Malaysians and international students," he said after officiating at the third OIC Higher Education Conference here today.
The two-day conference, which was organised by OIC International Business Centre, was attended by delegates from more than 35 countries to discuss on higher education institutions in the Muslim world could be improved.