British education, right in Malaysia

By CHOI TUCK WO

Nothing beats a good British education. And there’s little doubt that universities in Britain are clearly among the world’s best.

The fact that no less than 400,000 Malaysians have obtained degrees in Britain goes to show the popularity of British education among those back home.

Indeed, international students – including some 12,000 Malaysians – contribute over £2.5bil l(RM14.4bil) in tuition fees alone to the British economy each year.

A staggering figure, you may say.

Then there are those who yearn for the prestige of a British degree but cannot afford to study in Britain.

For them, it is an elusive dream – no thanks to rising tuition fees and stiff upfront payments under the Tier Four (students) points-based visa system.

However, British universities are increasingly expanding abroad and tapping the huge offshore student market, which accounted for nearly £270mil (RM1.5bil) in fees last year.

So, it’s perhaps time to look at a new kind of educational collaboration where – apart from British universities – British-style boarding schools can be brought to Malaysia. This would allow our students to have a British education without leaving our shores.

So far, Cardiff University, Manchester University and University of Reading are said to be eyeing Malaysia while boarding schools like Marlborough College, Wellington College and Epsom College have expressed interest too.

Even the prestigious Cheltenham Ladies College and Roedean All-Girls College are reportedly keen in jumping on the bandwagon.

For the record, Nottingham University already has a branch campus in Semenyih and Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia’s (NUMed) campus in Nusajaya, Johor, is scheduled to open in 2011.

Brain drain

British-Malaysia Society chairman Datuk Neville Green expressed confidence that it was economically and financially viable to set up British-style boarding schools in Malaysia.

He said they could cater to the expatriate children of foreign investors and Asean nationals as well as Malaysians who could not afford to send their children to boarding schools in Britain.

Green said he knew that a number of British public schools were interested in expanding to Malaysia but they were being held back by the global economic downturn.

“The timing is just not right,” he said, adding that it was the right time to start thinking (about expanding to Malaysia) although not the opportune time to make a decision.

He said Wellington College, for instance, was looking at Selangor while Epsom College was eyeing the Kuala Lumpur Education City.

Wellington College, he said, had held talks with its Malaysian counterparts, and it was keen on Selangor because a number of its former students were from that state.

“There is also a need for boarding schools for girls and Cheltenham Ladies College and Roedean College have expressed interest in Malaysia,” he noted.

Green said once the opportunity was ripe, they might take the next step in finding business partners to develop the sites and finance the projects.

Bringing quality British education to Malaysia, he added, would help to reverse the brain drain as parents no longer needed to send their children to study in Britain.

Emerging trend

Malaysian High Commissioner to Britain Datuk Abdul Aziz Mohamad said it was time Malaysians moved away from the mindset of pursuing higher education in Britain.

He said the number of Malaysian students coming to Britain had been declining over the years, with a lot of diversions to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States.

“We’re now all over the place, with Australia and New Zealand getting about 32,000 Malaysian students,” he said, adding that many had also gone to Ukraine, Germany and France.

Abdul Aziz said some British universities were trying to capture a slice of the Malaysian market through collaborations with their local counterparts.

He spoke of an emerging trend where British institutions set up boarding schools and campuses in Malaysia.

For instance, he said, Marlborough College, Cardiff University and Manchester University had expressed interest in venturing into Malaysia.

“There are a few more but nothing is concrete yet. It’s still at an exploratory stage,” he added.

Iskandar Investment Bhd’s senior vice-president (education & healthcare) Khairil Anwar Ahmad said talks were under way to bring British-style boarding schools and tertiary institutions to Malaysia.

He said besides NUMed, they hoped to attract eight other universities and several boarding schools to set up branch campuses at Iskandar Malaysia’s EduCity in Nusajaya and other nearby sites.

Other countries in Europe, and Australia and the US have shown interest in establishing branch campuses at Iskandar Malaysia’s EduCity.

“EduCity will be developed into a fully integrated education hub comprising best-in-class faculties of reputable universities,” he added.

And for foreign investors and expatriates who wish to do business or set up a second home in Malaysia, Iskandar Malaysia is offering what may be seen as the ultimate work-live-play environment.

- THE STAR