Number of Malaysian students in Jordan at 13-year high

AMMAN – A Malaysian diplomat on Thursday said the high level of quality education in the Kingdom is luring more and more Malaysian students to the country.

Sulaiman Bin Ismail, director of the students department at the Malaysian embassy in Amman, said 1,608 Malaysians are enrolled at universities in the Kingdom, mainly majoring in medicine, dentistry, Islamic jurisprudence, Arabic and Islamic theology, adding that the number is on the rise.

“The current number of Malaysian students in Jordan is the highest since 1997 and we expect some 1,000 additional students to begin their studies in Jordan with the start of the next semester in early 2011,” Bin Ismail said in an interview with The Jordan Times on Thursday.

Malaysian students contribute JD25 million to the country’s economy per year in the form of tuition and expenditures, according to figures cited by the diplomat.

Bin Ismail, who highlighted education as one of the main pillars of Jordanian-Malaysian ties, said there is room for closer cooperation in terms of faculty exchange and cooperation in higher education and scientific research.

According to Bin Ismail, there are currently 718 Jordanians studying at Malaysian universities, mainly majoring in medicine, IT, engineering and Islamic studies.

Other countries of origin for Arab students enrolled in Malaysian universities include Yemen (4,931 students) Libya (4,021), Sudan (2,443), Saudi Arabia (2,331), Iraq (1,712), the Palestinian territories (589), Oman (328) and Egypt (314), according to the diplomat.

Meanwhile, Bin Ismail said Jordan will take part in the international conference of ministers of higher education and scientific research from the Organisation of Islamic Conference countries, which will take place in Malaysia from October 18-22.

“The conference provides a very good opportunity to enhance cooperation between Jordan and Malaysia and all Islamic countries in terms of scientific research,” the diplomat said, stressing the need for greater scientific research in the Muslim world.

© Jordan Times 2010

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