JEDDAH: Malaysia, with some of its major universities imparting education in medical, science and technology, is among the overseas exhibitors attracting students and parents at meetes’09, which entered its second day yesterday.
“Every educational institution in Malaysia has to meet the standards laid down by the Malaysia Quality Agency, and that is why our institutions are preferred by overseas students,” Malaysian Ambassador Syed Omar Al-Saggaf told Arab News on the sidelines of a media briefing.
In 2008, about 60,000 overseas students were enrolled for university and college studies across Malaysia, 1,200 of them from Saudi Arabia. The country has 20 public and 24 private universities, with colleges exceeding 350.
“In fact, our country has developed the hard way. We do training ourselves. We have facilities, infrastructure and excel in information technology. Above all, we are not expensive compared to many Western countries and we are a safe country,” said the ambassador.
Abdul Aziz Marzouki, an undergraduate student at King Abdulaziz University, said he was studying the prospects of seeking higher studies in Kuala Lumpur-based University of Malaya. “What attracts me is that the university provides housing facilities that include fully furnished and air-conditioned bedrooms, kitchen and a mosque, aside from a university shuttle bus.”
“I am keen on studying engineering at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), which offers graduate programs in engineering, aside from other science and technology, and law,” Khaled Tamimi, another undergraduate student from a local university, said.
“I will make efforts to acquire basic English knowledge to be able to study there,” he added.
