Malaysia invites China's top universities to set up branches

Malaysian Higher Education Ministry has invited two top universities from China to set up branches in Malaysia, in view of the good education ties between the two countries.

Its deputy minister Hou Kok Chong told Xinhua here on Thursday that in a recent ministerial meeting, the Malaysian government had discussed the matter with the Chinese government.

He confirmed that written invitations had been extended to Tsinghua University and Peking University.

When asked about the reactions from the universities, Hou said China did not have policies pertaining to setting of varsity branches abroad.

"However, we are told that China will seriously consider our proposals," said Hou.

Hou stressed that the collaboration in the field of education between the two countries had been good.

According to Hou, the relevant ministries from Malaysia and China are working closely to achieve the goal of mutual recognition of university degrees.

At the same time, China also set up the Confucius Institute in Malaysia to promote the use of the Chinese language and culture, said Hou.

Currently, there are 2,700 Malaysians studying in China and 9, 300 students from China studying in Malaysia.

Hou said that with the branches being set up in Malaysia, Malaysian students would have more choices in the selection of their education paths.

Education quality in Malaysia would also be improved, Hou added.

Tsinghua University was set up in 1911 and was molded into a polytechnic institute focusing on engineering in the nationwide restructuring of universities and colleges in 1952.

The university has 14 schools and 56 departments with faculties in science, engineering, humanities, law, medicine, history, philosophy, economics, management, education and art.

Established in 1898, the Peking University is a comprehensive university of China that also serves as the center for teaching and research, embracing diverse branches of learning.

Source: Xinhua