Around 20 private institutions in Malaysia have committed to developing English language study programmes as part of a new initiative.
Malaysia Edu+, launched by tourism Malaysia, aims to boost ‘edutourism’, cultural exchange and English language study in the country. The scheme is designed to offer short-term educational programmes, coinciding with vacations.
Cultural experiences, homestay and sports tourism are some of the things included in the Edu+ model, all centred around English language at private institutions.
Edu+ is aimed at under-16s, with an initial focus on students from Japan. Previously, Japanese agency association JAOS committed to working with the National Association of Private Education Institutions (NAPEI) and the Malaysia Aviation Group to encourage more students from Japan to study in Malaysia.
There are further plans to expand the scheme to other markets, including South Korea, China, Russia and Vietnam. Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, YB Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan expressed that Edu+ ‘aims to attract 10,000 students in 2024, potentially generating RM50 million in revenue for the country’.
Wai Cheng Lau, Deputy President of NAPEI, said there has been an overwhelming response from travel operators and travel agents in Japan and South Korea:
‘With the positive reception we’ve garnered from events like the Tourism Expo Japan, we are hopeful that Edu+ will continue to attract more students from the region.’
