KL minister cites need to retain bright students but critics say talent should not be held back
KUALA LUMPUR - STOP handing students money to attend universities overseas and you put a plug in Malaysia's brain drain, says the government, in defending its unpopular decision to scrap overseas scholarships for undergraduates.
The move will also help improve Malaysia's own university system, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz.
'Sending students overseas causes a brain drain; some of them won't want to come back after studying there for a few years,' he was quoted this week as saying by the Malaysian Insider news portal.
'If you keep sending students overseas, when are we going to improve our standards (locally)?' The money would be better spent on building more local universities, he said.
The government hands out 1,500 undergraduate scholarships each year to students to study at universities abroad. They typically cover tuition fees and living costs, supporting many studying in the US, Britain and Australia, and costing the government RM1.24 billion (S$531 million) each year. Students who choose to study in Malaysia can also tap other scholarships and loans.
The government has said it will phase out the 1,500 overseas scholarships over time because of the cost, but this has upset many Malaysians, who say it contradicts a larger aim to raise the country's skills level and focus on training talent.
