Optimising Education
Malaysia has been viewed as an emerging contender with 2% of the global higher education student mobility market. However, this figures had increased between 2006 and 2008 by 30% bringing the overall numbers of international students in Malaysian international schools and higher education institutions reaching nearly 65,000. It is believed that the Government is well on target to realise its 2010 goal of 100,000 international students.
Taking into account the forecast in world demand by 2010, the Government estimates that their market share would need to grow from its current world share of international students (schools and higher education) of 3.9% in 2004 to 6.6% in 2010. In comparison to the global average annual growth rate of international students which is around 7.4% per annum, the Malaysian target growth rate would need to be in the region of 24% per annum to achieve the 2010 target.
No doubt this target is challenging. For too long we have ignored the development of education institutions in this country and, as a result, we face a shortage of academic skills. For that reason, many foreign professors, lecturers and researchers permitted to enter Malaysia from abroad, especially from middle east and asian countries, but in turn that is bleeding those countries of their skills base.
Although there is a possibility that many foreign students will join our education institutions and of course, some of them intends to work in Malaysia after graduation, there has been an announcement very recently that the Government is considering to tightening up our immigration policies, and visas for foreign workers. This could have an affect on foreign student numbers.
Whereas our young people, like many developed countries, generally are not in favour to study the physical sciences such as chemistry, physics and biology. One of the many reasons is about a normal trend in schools to teach single science subjects without emphasing on humanistic science experience. This has meant fewer specialised science teachers have been trained to represent a new thinking that is inclusive and diverse to understand the world around us. Pupils in our schools have sought relevance, which has meant that they have been choosing the biology with a view, for example, to study medicine at university.
There have already been hints that scientists are not well rewarded in their careers, as lawyers and doctors are, for example. In terms of having a moral conscience, some of them even believe we had caused the problems of the world, especially environmental damage. Partly as a result of these perceptions, there has been a succession of closures of many science departments in the education institutions including applied science as well as some engineering departments.
However, the overall number of students proceeding to study science-based subjects has not decreased. Instead, subjects such as medical, engineering and ICT have recruited many more students. But, these disciplines are not providing our country with the overall skills that we need. Even reports are coming in to Government that it is becoming more difficult for some of the education institutions to persuade their graduates to stay on for postgraduate studies. May be this is due to little incentives in terms of career progression once they had pursued either Master or PhD degree.
Malaysia has been viewed as an emerging contender with 2% of the global higher education student mobility market. However, this figures had increased between 2006 and 2008 by 30% bringing the overall numbers of international students in Malaysian international schools and higher education institutions reaching nearly 65,000. It is believed that the Government is well on target to realise its 2010 goal of 100,000 international students.
Taking into account the forecast in world demand by 2010, the Government estimates that their market share would need to grow from its current world share of international students (schools and higher education) of 3.9% in 2004 to 6.6% in 2010. In comparison to the global average annual growth rate of international students which is around 7.4% per annum, the Malaysian target growth rate would need to be in the region of 24% per annum to achieve the 2010 target.
No doubt this target is challenging. For too long we have ignored the development of education institutions in this country and, as a result, we face a shortage of academic skills. For that reason, many foreign professors, lecturers and researchers permitted to enter Malaysia from abroad, especially from middle east and asian countries, but in turn that is bleeding those countries of their skills base.
Although there is a possibility that many foreign students will join our education institutions and of course, some of them intends to work in Malaysia after graduation, there has been an announcement very recently that the Government is considering to tightening up our immigration policies, and visas for foreign workers. This could have an affect on foreign student numbers.
Whereas our young people, like many developed countries, generally are not in favour to study the physical sciences such as chemistry, physics and biology. One of the many reasons is about a normal trend in schools to teach single science subjects without emphasing on humanistic science experience. This has meant fewer specialised science teachers have been trained to represent a new thinking that is inclusive and diverse to understand the world around us. Pupils in our schools have sought relevance, which has meant that they have been choosing the biology with a view, for example, to study medicine at university.
There have already been hints that scientists are not well rewarded in their careers, as lawyers and doctors are, for example. In terms of having a moral conscience, some of them even believe we had caused the problems of the world, especially environmental damage. Partly as a result of these perceptions, there has been a succession of closures of many science departments in the education institutions including applied science as well as some engineering departments.
However, the overall number of students proceeding to study science-based subjects has not decreased. Instead, subjects such as medical, engineering and ICT have recruited many more students. But, these disciplines are not providing our country with the overall skills that we need. Even reports are coming in to Government that it is becoming more difficult for some of the education institutions to persuade their graduates to stay on for postgraduate studies. May be this is due to little incentives in terms of career progression once they had pursued either Master or PhD degree.
(continue to part 3)
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