الأخبار

DUBAI: Kuala Lumpur and the UAE homegrown Gems education system, responsible for 250 schools around the world, sealed on Thursday their “joint community outreach programme” whereby at least 7,000 senior high school graduates will benefit from various ratings of scholarships and grants in 25 local and international universities in Malaysia beginning academic year 2019-2020.

Dignitaries at the formal ceremonies held at the ongoing “Najah International Education Exhibition” in Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre were led by Malaysian Ambassador to the UAE Syed Mohammed Hasrin Tengku Hussin and Gems Education-Gems College
& Career Counselling Worldwide associate director Dr Kierstan Connors.

Meanwhile, Najah was swarmed by young Emirati women interested in studying overseas.

On the Kuala Lumpur-Gems tie-up, this is initially valued at Dhs10 million worth of scholarship and grants officially known as the Education Malaysia Global Assist-Gems UniConnect (EMGA-UniConnect).

The package only includes the tuition fees.

According to visiting EMGA senior partner Ahmad Razal Chan, EMGA is a programme
started in 2017 by Kuala Lumpur’s Ministry of Education-Education Malaysia (MoE-EM) to encourage families and high school graduating students, including the professionals elsewhere in the world to consider pursuing their baccalaureate or post-graduate degrees and continuing learning education in Malaysia for quality and affordable schooling.

Chan said normal university spend each year in Malaysia may range from Dhs80,000.00 to Dhs100,000, citing the four-year undergraduate four-year and engineering degrees.

According to Connors, Gems-UniConnect is the two-year-old education plan of the Gems education system founded in the UAE 60 years back.

The goal is to assist senior high school graduates in seeking university placements that may also lead to their internship and careers placements.

Gems-UniConnect has so far collaborated with colleges and universities not only in the UAE but also in China, Germany, The Netherlands, Canada, Australia, and US.

Total scholarship and grants available to all Gems senior high graduating students from academic year 2018-2019 is now at over Dhs1 billion which includes the Dhs10 million from Malaysia.

Hussin said initial talks for the EMGA-UniConnect under Kuala Lumpur’s “General Education Co-operation” began on April 29, 2018.

Both parties strongly believe the collaboration is in-step with the UAE leadership’s vision of providing quality international education to all residents specifically the future generation.

Connors said with the entry of Malaysia-based universities, the 7,000 to 8,000 a year
senior high school students of Gems schools worldwide will have much better opportunities to be trained and exposed to systems enabling them to become more socially responsible individuals of the future.

She said majority of the Gems students eye tertiary education pursuits overseas, having been oriented to the multi-ethnic fabric in the UAE.

Connors added that aside from quality and affordable education, families and parents have two other serious considerations—the safety and security of their children.

“But our (students) have to work hard for it,” Connors said, explaining that each graduating student has the chance to apply for at least one scholarship or grant.

Chan and Education Malaysia- Education Malaysia-Middle East/South & Central Asia
regional director/Education Consul Dr. Mohamad Rushdan Bin Hj. Azizan said EMGA has so far enrolled 170,000 students from around the world. Of these are 56,667 from 24 countries in the Middle East, South and Central Asia.

Both said overseas students must at least maintain 80 per cent class attendance and their grades must not plunge below 60 per cent of the expected marks per school year.

If not, Malaysian authorities will not renew their students’ visas which they should apply for every year.

Eight universities hubbed in Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak and Penang are participating at this year’s Najah.

One of these is the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in Kuala Lumpur with 3,550 current enrollees from the Middle East.

With at least 12 Islamic sister institutions in Islamic countries around the world as its governing board is composed of diplomats from all Islamic countries as well, IIUM represents the academic community from all Islamic nations at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, according to IIUM-Office of Promotion & Marketing director/Institute of Islamic Banking & Finance professor Khaliq Ahmad.

Another university participant is the Kuala Lumpur-based Asia Pacific University of
Technology & Innovation internationally recognised for its strong educational foundations on cyber science and security, forensics, and computer games development.

Source: http://gulftoday.ae/portal/6b8...