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Tony Perry of Education Not Taxation, a group that op-
poses the reform. Their parents sometimes stretch their fi-
nances to afford private education, having concluded that
local state schools cannot give their children the education
they need.
The most important question is whether the levy’s ben-
efits will outweigh its hassles. Labour is probably right that
taxing fees will raise about £1.5 billion (Rs.16,500 crore)
annually (even if many children flee to state schools, par-
ents are likely to spend a chunk of what they save on stuff
that is subject to VAT). But even if all that money goes into
education, it would raise the state-school budget by a mea-
gre 2 percent.
Yet threats to young brainpower are mounting. Around
a quarter of secondary-school pupils are “persistently” ab-
sent, twice as many as before the pandemic; the share who Foreign students in Malaysia: high-income nations preference
are missing more than half the time is going up. Services
for children with special education needs are in crisis; ris- with countries that host huge numbers of its students, such
ing costs threaten to bankrupt local councils. The fight over as Australia, Britain and the US. He says the government is
private schools has distracted policymakers from more im- also wary of opening the graduate employment floodgates,
portant matters. Time to get back to class. conscious of community perceptions about students mo-
nopolising jobs.
MALAYSIA Nevertheless, the countries “realistically” likely to be
Post-study work rights debate attracted to employment in Malaysia lie in regions like
South-east Asia, Africa and the Middle East. “I think they
MALAYSIA IS MAINTAINING A TOE-IN-THE- will eventually begin to tweak the policy,” says Perring.
water approach to post-study work rights, despite EMGS statistics show that China has easily been the
indications that it could help achieve a longstand- top country for applications to study in Malaysia this year,
ing goal of 250,000 international student enrolments by followed by Indonesia, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
2025. However, data from course choice platform Studyportals
The South-east Asian nation’s flirtation with post-study suggests that the graduate pass may be having an impact.
work rights has so far been restricted to citizens of high- Malaysia’s share of global page views has risen by about
income nations with lofty average earnings. The 23 coun- one-quarter this year, with particularly strong increases
tries whose students are entitled to the 12-month “graduate from the US, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Studyportals says
pass” introduced in December last year as part of a “visa trends on its websites foreshadow international admission
liberalisation plan” include the US, Japan, Singapore, Aus- patterns 15-18 months later.
tralia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia has been at the forefront of a surge in demand
north-western European nations such as the UK, Germany, for non-anglophone education destinations amid migration
Switzerland and Finland. The scheme was later tweaked to crackdowns in the West and an emerging Chinese prefer-
permit citizens of China and India to apply on a “case-by- ence for neighbouring countries. Monash University’s Ma-
case” basis if they could produce a “letter of good conduct” laysia campus has “certainly seen a spike from China,” ac-
from an educational institution or embassy. However, the cording to chief executive Adeeba Kamarulzaman. “We’re
“extension” to Chinese and Indian nationals expired in happy that it’s happening, but we’re not putting all our eggs
2024. Novie Bin Tajuddin, chief executive of Education Ma- in one basket,” she says, explaining that Australia’s “back-
laysia Global Services (EMGS), has previously flagged “fur- lash” against international students was partly a reaction
ther” changes to attract “quality” international students. to the dominance of particular nationalities.
Guy Perring, Kuala Lumpur-based regional director of Prof. Kamarulzaman says there’s discussion about
educational benchmarking company Etio, says Malaysian “broadening” the graduate pass’ eligibility list to make it
higher ed institutions have spent years lobbying for more more “relevant”. She says Malaysian institutions are keen to
flexible work rules for students. “It’s a positive thing that “diversify the campus” by attracting students from under-
they’ve actually created a list,” he says. “But of course, the represented countries. “When they come, they love it,” she
reality is that the students who are attracted to Malaysia are says.
not from the countries that are on that list.”
Perring says the focus on high-income countries reflects (Excerpted and adapted from The Economist and Times
Malaysia’s desire for a more genuine two-way exchange Higher Education)

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