LETTERS: Foreign students are the key drivers to the country's knowledge-based economy and they make a significant contribution to revenue generation.
The government has set an ambitious target of attracting 250,000 international students by 2025.
The Education Malaysia Global Services has segmented its marketing department according to regions to develop strategies for countries.
It is not difficult to achieve this goal because the perception is that Malaysia is the best choice for foreign students because of the low tuition fees, low cost of living, diversity in culture and food, and even the weather.
With the affordable tuition fees, foreign students can study comfortably and receive accredited certificates from their partner universities in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Many programmes offered by Malaysian universities are accredited by the Washington Accord, an international accreditation agreement for academic degrees.
That is among the reasons Malaysia is the first choice of students in the Asian region.At the International Islamic University Malaysia, more than 6,000 foreign students from more than 116 countries are studying here. And, every year, more than 1,000 international students are given admission.
However, during this pandemic, the numbers have decreased because many students who have received admission cannot enter due to border restrictions.
This is not exclusive to IIUM but the others too, including private universities. Private universities and some foreign branch campuses in Malaysia are fearing for their survival as foreign students have been restricted.
The restrictions mean that they're no longer getting any income from tuition fees, including at foreign branch campuses that make this country an international higher education hub.
According to conservative estimates, 20 per cent of private institutions in Malaysia risk closure and earlier this year, experts calculated that around half of private universities were at risk of insolvency.
This is mainly because they are unable to pay their current liabilities such as wages and bills.
The Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities, based on information gathered from its members earlier this year, found that at least one in five of Malaysia's 440 private higher education institutions is at risk of closure this year.
To be fair, this situation is not only occurring in Malaysia. Universities the world over are facing the problem. To overcome this, many universities in the United States allow students to get admission without sitting the Graduate Record Examinations test.
Australian universities are allowing student to get admission without going through the International English Language Testing System. Many European countries allow entry for overseas students who have been fully vaccinated.
The European Union (EU) Digital Covid Certificate Regulation came into effect on July 1 this year.
EU citizens and residents will now be able to have their Digital Covid Certificates issued and verified across the EU.
Perhaps this approach should be considered by the authorities in Malaysia, that is, allowing fully vaccinated foreign students to enter Malaysian varsities to pursue their studies.
In a way, this will help the Malaysian education sector to start recovering.
Dr Md Zahidul Islam
Assistant professor, Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws, International Islamic University Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times