Singapore and Malaysia have been leading the way in Southeast Asia when it comes to promoting and developing their educational systems, reflecting their governments’ recognition that the knowledge economy of the future needs a strong foundation.
Although most countries in the region, including Thailand, spend large portions of their budgets on education, very few take a long-term view of where they want their educational system to lead society. But Singapore and Malaysia are determined in this regard to ensure that their populations stay ahead of the pack.
“The rise in demand [for private provision and financing of education] is a result of the recognition that a well-educated labour force is needed for long-term economic development,” the Singaporean Ministry of Finance observed in a recent report.
This has prompted Singapore to increase its spending on education by 40%, to $8.7 billion from $6.1 billion, over the past few years.
Malaysia’s government, meanwhile, has been encouraging foreign universities to enter the country and “cleared regulatory hurdles that might impede development”, University World News reported last year.
Countries such as Thailand have been left behind due to the red tape imposed by the Ministry of Education on foreign institutions of higher education that want to set up campuses in the country. Most abandon hope and rely instead on partnerships with local universities.
Global statistics bear out the increased demand for higher learning by young Asians.
Asian students, mainly from China, India and South Korea, account for 53% of all foreign students enrolled worldwide. Around 75% of the international students study at schools in OECD countries, according to Education at a Glance 2013: Highlights published by the Organization for Cooperation and Development.
But many Singaporean and Malaysian students do not have to look any farther than their doorsteps for world-class education in their countries. Their governments have actively encouraged the establishment of branch campuses as part of a drive to make their countries the educational hubs in the East. Singapore now leads the region with 16 foreign university campuses and Malaysia is not far behind with 12.
International universities, mainly from Australia, the UK and the United States, have spotted the opportunity in Asian markets and have stepped in to provide world-class education. At the same time, they have recognised the need to adapt to local cultural norms, while also meeting the qualifications of both the host country and their own standards. On top of that, they face an increasingly competitive recruiting environment as top schools vie to attract the most talented young candidates.
To establish a foreign university branch, campus, or college in Malaysia, prior approval of the minister must be obtained, according to the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996. This applies to both private and public universities.
A foreign university can submit an application along with prescribed fees to the registrar-general either on its own initiative or by invitation from the minister, who makes the final decision on whether to accept the application.
Both UK-based Newcastle University and Monash University of Australia were invited by the minister to open branch campuses specialising in fields approved by the government of Malaysia.
As the first foreign university to establish a campus in Malaysia in 1998, Monash University Malaysia (MUM) now has around 6,000 students, up from an initial enrolment of 417.
A prior relationship with Malaysia made it easier for Monash University to enter the market, noted Professor Helen Bartlett, Pro-Vice Chancellor and President of Monash University Malaysia. With a vision to make a difference in education, research, and development in the world beyond Australia, Monash seized the moment when it was invited by the Kuala Lumpur government to open a branch under the Sunway education group, she said.
Newcastle University has only two international branch campuses, in Malaysia and Singapore.
Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed) entered the country as the “first UK university to offer medical degrees in-country” because during the mid 2000s there was a shortage of doctors. The institution’s leaders developed a campus, in conjunction with the Iskandar EduCity project, focused on the medical programme, said Prof Ella Ritchie, deputy vice-chancellor of Newcastle University.
After “lots of very careful work, planning, and negotiating … with the local state government and with the hospitals”, the first group of 224 doctors graduated on June 28, 2014. “It’s an absolute privilege to be able to see those students graduate,” Prof Ritchie told Asia Focus.
While Malaysia actively encouraged the entry of Newcastle University, the establishment of a campus in Singapore was a more incremental process. It was approached initially by the Singaporean government to specifically offer some engineering courses, said Prof Ritchie.
James Cook University (JCU), an Australian institution specialising in tropical research, had a natural interest in Asia given the tropical climate in many of its countries, explained president Dale Anderson. It was approached by the Singapore government to set up a branch through a partnership in 2003. JCU acquired its own campus in Singapore in 2011.
For foreign universities, setting up a satellite campus is a win-win proposition because they get to raise their profile internationally, while the host countries can offer their young people more access to high-standard education.
At the same time, host country governments, as Malaysia and Singapore have demonstrated successfully, can direct higher education institutions to work with the sectors and industries that need improvement and advancement in terms of skilled people.
Singapore’s Ministry of Education is committed to continuing to identify training needs and gaps, in consultation with employers, and to make sure they are filled. As it noted in a release in 2012: “To diversify the educational offerings, a new applied degree pathway will cater to a broader range of students with different learning preferences and interests, and create a close nexus with industry and economic needs to enhance the employability of graduates.”