MOHE to view positively Oman's decision to ban four Malaysian universities

JAKARTA: The Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) will view positively and thoroughly the decision of the Oman government in disallowing its students to pursue their tertiary education at four Malaysian universities.
Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said the ministry had always given priority to the quality of education offered at each university in the country and would not compromise with any institution in this matter.
"We are currently investigating the issue to ensure that there is no misunderstanding ... if there was a weakness, we will improve it," he told reporters after delivering a keynote address at the Malaysian Higher Education Exhibition here today.
Idris said this in response to the recent report published in The Times of Oman, which stated that the country's Higher Education Ministry had disallowed students to pursue studies at four universities in Malaysia.
According to the report, the Committee for the Recognition of Non-Omani Higher Education Institutions and the Equivalence of Educational Qualifications had issued a decision to stop dealing with University Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Binary University of Management & Entrepreneurship and SEGI University.
The report said the decision was due to the various alleged abuses by the universities. Currently, there are 378 Omani students in the four universities.
On the exhibition, Idris, who is on a three-day working visit to Indonesia, said the MOHE aimed at luring more Indonesian students to pursue their studies in Malaysia as the costs would be much cheaper compared to the costs to study in western countries.
"Right now, there are 9,000 Indonesian students in Malaysia and we hope the number will increase to 11,000 or 20,000 next year," he said.
The exhibition was participated by nine Malaysian public universities, namely Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abdidin, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Sarawak Malaysia (UNIMAS), and seven private universities, namely the Management and Science University, Lim Kok Wing University, Asia Pacific University of Tecnology & Innovation, Taylors College, SEGI University, HELP University, and Meritus University. — Bernama