By Arvind Nair
Gulf Times 31 Dec 2008
MALAYSIA wishes to co-operate with Qatar in higher education and share its expertise in the field, a visiting minister said yesterday. Malaysian Minister of Higher Education Mohamed Khaled Nordin will meet Qatar’s Minister of Education and Higher Education, HE Sheikha Ahmed al-Mahmoud today to discuss possible ways of co-operation.
Nordin, who is accompanied by a delegation of over 25 members, is on a two-day visit to Qatar.
The minister said the two countries already had strong trade and diplomatic relations but Malaysia wanted to expand them into other fields.
He said both Kuala Lumpur and Doha gave great importance to higher education.
“In this regard, Malaysia would explore areas of mutual co-operation, sharing the strengths in higher education between the two countries,” he said.
Nordin said Malaysia appreciated Qatar’s emphasis on internationalisation of higher education which was important in a globalised knowledge-based economy.
Internationalisation did not just mean bringing students from other countries but could include collaboration between universities in exchanging academicians and information.
“With Qatar’s stress on higher education, we can share and benefit and look into the best practices and share what we do,” Nordin said, pointing out that both countries sought to be regional hubs in higher education.
Nordin said the possibilities of co-operation included signing a memorandum of understanding regulating various aspects including exchanging academicians and students and joint research and development.
Malaysia, he said, had established itself as one of the top destinations for education. Institutions there offered world class qualifications to local and international students.
He said there were more than 62,000 foreign students from about 150 countries studying various programmes in Malaysia. They included 17,500 students from the Middle East, including 18 from Qatar.
He said Malaysia had many educational institutes of excellence and offered a wide range of courses, including IT and Islamic banking, at a “reasonable” cost.
Malaysian institutions offer certificate programmes, diplomas, professional courses, foundation courses, undergraduate degrees, master’s degrees and PhDs.
Some private institutions also offer twinning programmes whereby a student can complete one or two years in Malaysia and the rest of the programme in another country. Most private universities and colleges have twinning arrangements with universities in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France and other European countries.
The country currently has 19 public universities, one international university, 33 private universities, four branch campuses of foreign universities and 450 private colleges.
Some of the universities could open campuses in Qatar but it was up to each institute to decide, Nordin said. “The potential for co-operation is very wide,” he added.
Malaysian Ambassador Dato Shahrul Ikram said the delegation’s visit reflected the strong relationship between the two countries.
The delegation includes director general of the ministry of higher education Prof Dato Radin Umar, his deputy Omar Abdul Rahman, and Shushilil Azam B Shuib, Mena director for Malaysia Education Promotion Centre, based in Dubai.