Excerpt from The Time Higher Education Supplement (http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=407545) dated 30 July 2009. Interesting reading for students in Malaysia.
"In 2000, the country had 16 universities and 15 polytechnics. By 2008, it had 35 universities, 37 polytechnics and 24 university colleges. Over the same period, student numbers rose from 664,000 to 873,000.
However, the report adds that Malaysia's public universities face problems. Positive-discrimination policies instituted in the early 1970s to support the native ethnic-Malay majority have led to race-based admissions quotas in public universities. This has meant that "universities have had to accept some Malay students even if technically they are not of the required standard", the report says.
In addition, "a sense of entitlement has bred complacency among Malay students", affecting their employability - there were 60,000 unemployed public university graduates in 2007.
The report adds that "Malaysia's public university system has been crippled by space constraints, a lack of financing and poor quality".
These problems have encouraged students to seek university courses outside the public sector - either abroad or among the growing ranks of private institutions at home.
The report says: "The UK is ... considered the most prestigious destination for Malaysian students. Much of this is owing to a cherished colonial legacy.
"The UK university 'brands' are more highly regarded than Australia's or even most of those of the US."
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