Higher Education in Malaysia 87
level at 3.7 per cent, tertiary education enrolment had increased by 58.2
per cent annually, recording an increase in enrolment from 64,024 in 1985
to 921,548 in 2008 (World Bank 2011).
Developments between 2008 and 2012 have seen a decline in enrolment
at the primary (–3.1 per cent annual decrease) and secondary levels
(–0.7 per cent annual decrease). This may be due to students moving to
private local and international schools and declining birth rates. Tertiary
education enrolment remained on an upward trend of 4.4 per cent annually,
suggesting that numbers seeking admission locally into tertiary institutions
has stabilized ( MOHE 2008–12).
Demand for Higher Education
Social demand for higher education has increased rapidly to keep pace
with industrialization and the need to enhance productivity levels. Existing
public universities were unable to meet the demand: in 1992 the shortfall
was about 150,000 places (New Straits Times, 25 May 1992, p. 4). The
government undertook to liberalize private education as a way of increasing
post-secondary places without increasing the demand for public funds.
Another consideration was the increasing cost of supporting Malaysian
students overseas, spurring the government to look for domestic solutions.
Between 1995 and 1997 a raft of legislative acts governing public and
private HEIs was tabled in Parliament. The acts covered accreditation and
quality assurance, regulations regarding private HEIs and international
branch campuses, use of English as medium of instruction, corporatization
and the Higher Education Student Loan Fund. These Acts provided the
framework for the growth and expansion of private higher education in
Malaysia.
In 1985, there were 68,000 Malaysian students studying overseas
mainly in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada and New Zealand
(Marimuthu 2008, p. 272). By 2000, this number was down to 50,000 with
funds outflow estimated at RM2 billion (INPUMA 2000, p. 18). With the
insufficient capacity of public HEIs, the private sector came into its own.
Despite efforts to reduce the numbers overseas, the number of Malaysian
students abroad increased to 81,282 in 2012. There are two main reasons
for this: one, the premium parents and society at large place on overseas
qualifications and experience and, second, students’ inability to enrol
locally in study areas of their choice.