JOHOR BARU: The Higher Education Ministry is drawing up strategies to attract more students from Africa and the Middle East to study in Malaysia.

"Malaysia houses not only institutions of higher learning established by locals, but also many campuses set up by other international institutions here," Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin told a press conference in Plentong yesterday.

"With 41 private and 20 public institutions in the country, we are in a good position to attract them," he said.

Khaled said the ministry would ensure the institutions' policies and the disciplines offered were of international standard.

He said that organisations like the Malaysian Qualification Agency and Malaysia Medical Council would ensure the quality of education provided by the institutions remained high.

"We have also requested all the private institutions to participate in the rating programme (for institutions of higher learning)," he said.

He said Africa and the Middle East were huge potential markets with 43 million people having qualified for tertiary education.

The 60,000 foreign students currently studying here were also working on recruiting more students from their home countries, he added. -The Star/Asia News Network