International students are attracted to study in Malaysia, but the road is bumpy

Malaysian universities are becoming increasingly attractive to students from Africa. However, it is much harder to get into Malaysia.

The Malaysian Ambassador to Nigeria, Datuk Lim Juay Jin, disclosed that there are approximately 13,000 Nigerian students currently in Malaysia at various levels in higher learning institutions, both public and private. This indicates that Nigerian students in Malaysia form the highest number of international students from Africa studying here.

“For a relatively medium size country like Malaysia, we have 13,000 Nigerians studying at various levels in educational institutions and this is significant.

“Malaysian educational process is also a stepping stone for a lot of Nigerians who want to pursue further education. Malaysia has been so attractive because the cost of studying in Malaysia is affordable and we do not compromise on standards.

“Also, the English-speaking environment makes it conducive for Nigerians to go to Malaysia,” he says.

The ambassador was interviewed by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in the capital Abuja on Wednesday 31^st, in honour of Malaysia’s 59th year since independence.

Malaysia’s something something about influence or impact in Nigeria can be seen further through the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP), which has seen participation of 456 Nigerian officials since 1981. The programme offers courses in areas related to public administration, human resources, various areas in management, and diplomatic training.

The attraction to Malaysia’s higher education isn’t limited to Nigeria alone. On Tuesday, the Daily Nation, a news agency in Kenya, reported that one of Malaysia’s private institutions and Mombasa County entered a partnership agreement that would offer Kenyan students the opportunity to study at a lower cost.

Management and Science University (MSU) will collaborate with public universities in Mombasa by sending academic staff to teach students at the local universities in the county. On the other hand, the county expressed commitment to provide scholarships for their students to study here at MSU.

Governor Hassan Joho and MSU President Prof Dato Wira Mohammed Shukri AB Yajid signed the deal at the governor’s office in Kizingo attended by university officials and high school students.

This agreement also extends the collaboration efforts to improve the quality of teaching at local universities in Mombasa, enhance research quality, and provide professional development for lecturers.

Cautious attraction

Although international students in general and African students in particular remain attracted to Malaysia’s higher education, the road to study in Malaysia is becoming increasingly more difficult, especially after the establishment of Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS).

In its essence, the establishment of this body is propagated to facilitate the application process and student visa approval for international students who plan to come and study in Malaysia. EMGS would check the qualifications of the students and the academic and financial capabilities to ensure that students who come to Malaysia come for the purposes of education and nothing else. This has not changed. However, the operations of EMGS have seen multiple setbacks which seem to cause students numerous problems and running with the immigration department.

Currently, EMGS facilitates new application into Malaysia and renewal of study visa for existing students. It takes approximately 8 weeks for new applicants to receive the Visa Approval Letter (VAL) after a lengthy process. However, problems seem to pop up when existing students send their travel documents for visa renewal.

In some cases, students have given their passport for renewal several months prior to visa expiration and had to suffer the consequences of waiting too long, cancellation of travel arrangement, which can be very expensive, and getting stuck in a state of limbo. Before EMGS, it took significantly less time to renew study visa.

Similar cases continue to occur even after EMGS implemented new systems to facilitate the process. However, there seems to be a solution in sight. Earlier this year, EMGS announced the new applicants will receive a student pass that would be valid for the entire duration of study. This will fix the renewal problem, but it will take a while until the issue of existing students is fully resolved.