JEDDAH, 17 March 2004 — The number of Saudi students in Malaysia has jumped from 20 to more than 200 in about 16 months. Some study at colleges and universities, others take short courses.
A Saudi education agency is slated to take prospective students on a visit to private and public universities in Malaysia to give them a taste of the educational services available there, according to Shushilil Azam Shuib of the Malaysian Education Promotion Center for the Middle East in Dubai. If successful, the program could expand.
Last year, one agency in Jeddah alone sent more than 200 students to study English at Malaysian colleges.
Saudis who can afford it have traditionally preferred to send their children to study in the West, with the US a long-standing favorite. But Malaysia has recently made a name for itself as a modern, moderately Islamic country able to provide quality education at significantly lower cost. The language of instruction is English.
Azam said education promotion has been so successful that at present, 3,726 students from the Middle East are studying in Malaysia. The majority are from Yemen (800), followed by Libya and Oman. The target for students from the Middle East for the next year is 5,000.
