SEREMBAN: Private institutions of higher learning have been told to ensure that their lecturers are competent to deliver quality education in efforts to make Malaysia recognised as a regional education hub.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said this was important as the country planned to increase its foreign student enrolment from 55,000 to 100,000 by 2010.

“We do not only want modern infrastructure but also quality faculty members to deliver quality education as well.

“We must invest to have quality manpower,” he said when opening the Legenda Education Group campus in Mantin, some 25km from here.

Smooth going: Najib touring an exhibition held at Legenda Education Group campus in Mantin after declaring it open earlier. Behind him is Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

To achieve this, more lecturers and tutors needed to be trained to ensure they could effectively impart knowledge, he said.

“The ultimate objective is to make Malaysia one of the key destinations for international students.

“On our part, we will make sure the process of issuing visas for foreign students and their study and living environments here are conducive,” he said.

Najib said the Government had introduced several measures to ensure that people, particularly the younger generation, had access to affordable quality education.

“In the 1980s, we promoted the twinning programme concept. In the 1990s, we allowed the private colleges to offer degree courses on a franchise basis with foreign institutions.

“This was followed by the setting up of several new private universities and allowing foreign universities to set up branch campuses here,” he said.

Najib said the Government wanted to see every four out of 10 students between 17 and 23 years of age complete tertiary education in the year 2010.

“By 2020, half of those in that age group must be graduates. This is important if we want to be able to move forward,” he said.

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