More pacts in education likely between Qatar and Malaysia

DOHA: With its high quality and affordable education, Malaysia is poised to be a hub for higher education for students from Qatar and around the world, Malaysian Ambassador to Qatar, Dato Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, has stressed.

Speaking to local media at the opening ceremony of Study in Malaysia Fair yesterday at the Movenpick West Bay, the envoy said Qatar and Malaysia enjoy warm and friendly relations punctuated by frequent exchange of high-level visits between the two countries, a milestone of which was the inaugural state visit by Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad AI Thani to Malaysia in last October.

During H H the Amir’s visit, a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were signed, one of which was cooperation in the field of higher education. More MoUs and high-level visits between education ministries of both countries as well as exchange programmes between universities are likely in the future, he said.

Currently, some Malaysian and Qatari universities already have their own MoUs.

“We are also hoping that it is not only for Qatari students to study in Malaysia but also Malaysian students to come here to study Arabic and Islamic studies which could be sponsored by the Qatari government,” he said. He said there are there are 111 universities registered with the Ministry of Education Malaysia, of which 20 are public universities, 81 private universities and private university colleges and ten foreign university branch campuses.

Currently ranked by UNESCO as the world’s 11th preferred study destination, Malaysia’s higher education institutions accommodate approximately 170,000 international students from more than 150 countries. Every year, more than 100 students from Qatar come to Malaysia to study.

The Ambassador highlighted Malaysia’s high quality education maintained through the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) established under the Ministry of Education Malaysia as the main quality assurance and accrediting body responsible for assuring the quality of both public and private higher education institutions in Malaysia. As a result, many reputed foreign universities from countries namely the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and China have set up branch campuses in Malaysia or engaged in collaboration with the Malaysian institutions.

Ambassador Fadil said that if a student opts to study in Malaysia, the student can get the best of two worlds - a degree from a highly recognised international university, at a very affordable cost. He said Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur has been ranked as one of the least expensive cities in the world to live in. In addition, the city has also been named as the most affordable student city by QS World University Rankings.

Many international students choose to study in Malaysia as it offers them real value for money. A United Kingdom three-year engineering degree in Malaysia through a franchised degree program comes at an estimated $16,000, whereas the tuition fee of the same degree program at the host university in the United Kingdom is about $45,000.

In its second edition, Study in Malaysia Fair being organized by MY Aspiration Sdn Bhd features counseling sessions for prospective students who wish to explore tertiary education quality programs and curriculum carried out by the public and private universities and Malaysia based foreign university branch campuses.

The event features seven universities including International University of Malaya-Wales, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation, Curtin University Malaysia, Mahsa University, Multimedia University, Segi University and Colleges, and Quest University.