chapter 6 - Malaysia Productivity Corporation ( MPC)

learning programmes. The aim of this programme
is to provide long life learning that can enhance
people with skills and knowledge which match
with today’s needs and challenges. Partnership
programmes between the Government and
private universities on areas of strategic research
and knowledge transfer are some of the initiatives
identified under EPP12 (championing Malaysia’s
international education brand).
EduCity Iskandar Malaysia (EduCity) (EPP11) in
Nusajaya, Johor marks a significant milestone
into turning Malaysia as a regional education
hub in South East Asia with world class quality. It
has fared well with world-class universities such
as the Newcastle University Medical Malaysia
(NuMeD) and Netherlands Maritime Institute of
Technology (NMIT). The Newcastle University
Medical Malaysia (NuMeD) has started its operation
with 80 undergraduate medical students on
November 2011 offering full UK medical degrees
in country. The Marlborough College is almost 40%
completed while the Raffles University Iskandar,
the University of Southampton Malaysian Campus
and the University of Reading Malaysian Campus
are to commerce soon. Competitive tuition fee,
wide range of courses and existence of some of the
top-notch university campuses in EduCity Iskandar
Malaysia will drive more students from different
part of the world to pursue their studies here.
Strategies and Outlook
Providing education is more challenging than in the
past. Globalisation and technology advancement
have created a much more intense business
environment. In response to this, industrial and
corporate sectors are very demanding for graduates
to be more innovative, creative and knowledgeable.
CHAPTER 6
For the graduates, higher education qualification is
essential for career progression and entering into
the job markets. The Government views education
as a revolving business landscape to strengthen
human capital and transforming the country into
an international education hub.
There are several measures that can boost
and strengthen the private education services.
Programmes offered by private university and
colleges should be more industry driven, accredited
by the Government and internationally recognised.
Private education service providers should actively
involved in international events where students
can take part in seminars or competition as this can
promote excellence, creativity and hence increase
productivity.
To encourage a more competitive environment,
established foreign universities should be invited
to set up campuses in Malaysia. More efforts are
needed to increase a larger number of world-class
universities in EduCity Iskandar Malaysia (EduCity).
Currently, most of the private universities and
colleges are concentrated in Kuala Lumpur and
Selangor. The newly developed EduCity will provide
more balance on education establishment. It also
acts as a supplier of talented manpower to the
various economic activities in Iskandar Malaysia. It
is important that private higher education should
be made more accessible and affordable to the
students and the Government must monitor closely
the tuition fees so that the costs are reasonable.
Malaysia has great potential to diverse its
education system and becoming an education
hub in the South East Asia region. English has been
widely used as a primary medium of instruction
in private tertiary institutions. This makes the
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