Timor-Leste To Send 300 Students To Malaysia For Higher Education In New Partnership

By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar

JAKARTA, Aug. 30 (Bernama) --Timor-Leste plans to send 300 students to Malaysia over the next five years to pursue education at public and private higher education institutions, with the support of the Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS).

The CEO of EMGS, Novie Tajuddin, said that as a start, 31 students sponsored by the Timor-Leste Human Capital Development Fund (HCDF) will begin their undergraduate and postgraduate studies this November.

"Universiti Teknikal MARA (UniKL) has announced that it will award 50 scholarships to students from Timor-Leste to study in Malaysia," he said when contacted by Bernama.

On Thursday, EMGS and HCDF signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate the admission process for these students.

The MoU signing ceremony was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was on an official visit to Timor-Leste from August 28 to 30.

The agreement outlines cooperation in managing and supporting scholarship recipients from Timor-Leste, including visa applications, pre-departure preparations, and university placements.

"This MoU will further enhance the opportunities for Malaysian higher education institutions to receive students from Timor-Leste, thereby increasing the number of international students in Malaysia," he said.

Novie mentioned that his organisation had launched the first Malaysia Alumni Association in Timor-Leste.

The government, through EMGS, provided an initial funding of US$2,000 for the alumni association, which aims to promote Malaysian higher education to the local community, he added.

At the event, Universiti Malaysia Sabah and the National University of Timor-Leste also signed an MoU to strengthen cooperation, aiming to enhance academic, research, and training activities between the two institutions.

-- BERNAMA