Dr.Syed Mehboob

Economic and Political analyst

http//: www.thenewslark.com

email: drmehboob.thenewslark@gmail.com

Malaysia’s advancement in education, science, and technology is astonishing. Its far-sighted, sincere leadership has made education a top priority in its policies and allocated sufficient resources, and now Malaysia is reaping its fruits. Malaysia is one of the major sources of attraction for foreign students in Asia. One of my students, Dr. Zubair, did his Ph.D. in finance in Malaysia, and he admires the friendly atmosphere in Malaysia for foreign students.

Malaysia is steadily increasing its volume of international students, backed by careful government strategies. East Asian students are particularly attracted to Malaysia, and the number of Chinese students is increasing. Malaysian investment in education is significant and it resulted in the attraction of foreign students due to the quality of Malaysian education.

There are eight high-ranking universities in Malaysia which ranked in the top 500 QS World University Rankings in 2024. Malaysian universities offer very low-cost and affordable quality education to foreign students. Therefore, Asian students prefer Malaysia over many European and American universities. Malaysia has been estimated to be two-thirds less expensive to live in than the US and half as expensive as Canada and Ireland. Annual tuition for an undergraduate degree is on average US$ 6,000.

Besides these Malaysia has immense advantages for Muslim students and they find similarities in culture there and offer their prayers and other religious rituals without any fear and hesitation.  Students from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Egypt give preference to Malaysia because of prayer facilities and the ease of having hijab for girls. The visa approval rate for foreign students is 90%. Malaysia is planning to attract 250,000 foreign students in 2025.

In 2023, all of Malaysia’s top ten markets were in Asia and Africa. Chinese students sent in the most applications by far, nearly 27,000 up from 12,000 in 2019. Bangladesh was the fastest-growing source of students.

 

 

 

 

Countries with the number of students in 2023

S.No Country Number of Students studied in Malaysia in 2023 Increase % from 2022
1 China 26,630 +21%
2 Bangladesh 6,570 +94%
3 Indonesia 4,310 +19%
4 Nigeria 1,420 +10%
5 Yemen 1,770 +32%
6 Pakistan 1,940 +18%
7 India 1,900 +18 %
8 Japan 1,400 +29 %
9 Egypt 880 +12%
10 Sudan 1,310 +60%

The Malaysian government has been selective in its post-study work policies for international students. Last year, students from 23 countries became eligible for the 12-month Graduate Pass. Those countries include Australia, the US, the UK, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, UAE, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and Finland. These are not the main senders of students to Malaysia but were selected based on the Malaysian government’s intention to pursue two-way internationalization with the countries and institutions hosting the most Malaysian students.

The Graduate Pass appears to be attracting attention in target markets.  According to the reports of “Times Higher Education “  “Malaysia’s share of global page views (on search platform Studyportals)  has risen by about one-quarter this year, with particularly strong increases from the US, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.” One can also imagine that the Graduate Pass opportunity for Chinese students has factored into the sharp rise in applications from China in the past year.

 

Year Certificate Diploma Degree Master Ph.D
2019 9,750 10,500 23,526 7,976 6,173
2020 4,083 4,500 12,877 5,717 6,348
2021 2,984 3,000 12,615 11,492 11,611
2023 8,078 4,064 25,623 16,121 12,500

 

 

Year Social Sciences, Business and Law Science, Math and Computing General Programme Engineering, Manufacturing, and Construction
2019 16,891 5,547 5,592 6,376
2020 10,532 3,626 3,151 3,744
2021 15,796 4,157 4,290 3,565
2022 19,081 5,943 5,373 4,324
2023 20,095 8,868 6,239 4,918
Year Education Health and Welfare Services Agriculture
2019 1,694 1,975 2,136 167
2020 1,369 1,368 1,390 76
2021 3,322 1,730 1,054 78
2022 3,776 2,073 1,406 160
2023 3,860 3,655 2,524 1,0878

In 2024 it became crystal clear that many universities in the West including Canada, the UK, and the USA are ill-prepared to cope with regulatory changes that challenge their ability to recruit international students. In Canada, for example, international student tuition has been essential for tertiary institutions, operations given chronic government underfunding, but the Canadian government is now actively working to curb international students. Without additional funding, likely, many institutions especially colleges, which are more affected by new immigration regulations will struggle or even close in 2025. By contrast, Asian destinations are picking up steam and investing more in both education and international student recruitment. Reporter Benjamin Laker, writing recently in Forbes, observes:

“As institutions in parts of the West continue to face funding challenges, higher education institutions across Asia are seizing opportunities to strengthen their competitiveness—a process that can be understood through the lens of economic theory, particularly competitive leapfrogging. This concept describes how organizations or nations strategically capitalize on gaps left by established leaders, not just to catch up but to surpass them by leveraging innovation, investment, and alignment with future trends.”

Asian institutions are ever more present in world university rankings, and Malaysia stands out as the country rising the fastest in the rankings. In the QS 2025 world rankings, 65% of Malaysia’s universities improved their position. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told Mr. Laker that there is a strategy underpinning this success:

“Our goal is to create a pipeline of talent that meets industry demands while maintaining academic excellence. Investing in innovation is not just about economic gains—it is about positioning Malaysia as a hub for technological and intellectual leadership.”

It is a matter of great pride and happiness that Malaysia has become a role model for Muslim countries not only in economic development but also in education, science, and technology advancement.

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