(THE SUN 11thSept2006)
MELBOURNE: The government will select about 7,000 young lecturers and post-graduate students for PhD studies both in Malaysia and overseas, Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said here.
Also, from next February, government-sponsored students in Australia and New Zealand will get up to 100% increases in their scholarship rates.
Mustapa, who is on a 11-day working visit to Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth, delivered the good news when he addressed large gatherings of Malaysian students in these cities.
A little more than half of the PhD candidates will study in Malaysia and the rest overseas, with Australia set to get a large proportion of the students.
Mustapa said the government was giving education the highest priority as Malaysia progressed towards 2020.
“Education is our highest priority and we have set aside money to enable young Malaysians to get quality education at the highest level,” he said.
Currently, about 30% of the lecturers in Malaysian universities have PhD degrees, and Mustapa’s aim is to raise it to 60%.
Mustapa had discussions with the University of Melbourne, his alma mater, and other Australian universities for a PhD programme where students would complete part of the degree in Malaysia and part in Australia.
“Melbourne is the centre of excellence and it is one of the greatest cities in the world,” he said.
“The quality of education in Melbourne is about the highest in the world. The environment is nice and the people are nice.”
Mustapa also announced he would be establishing a Malaysian student department in Melbourne next year.
