The Malaysian government has agreed to expand recognition of degrees conferred by 157 Taiwan universities, retroactive to June 20, 2011, according to the ROC Ministry of Education.
“Currently, only diplomas in dentistry, medicine and pharmacy issued by eight universities nationwide, [such as National Taiwan University and Taipei Medical University], and degrees from engineering departments accredited by the Institute of Engineering Education Taiwan are approved by the Malaysian government,” MOE Deputy Minister Lin Tsong-ming said July 29.
Under an agreement signed July 20 by the Higher Education Evaluation & Accreditation Council of Taiwan and the Malaysian Qualifications Agency, all degrees certified by these two organizations will be recognized by the Malaysian government, Lin explained.
Diplomas from junior, military and police colleges will still not be accepted, however, the MOE said.
“Malaysia is the leading source of incoming ethnic Chinese students, accounting for one-quarter of the total,” Lin said. In 2011, Malaysian students at Taiwan’s universities numbered 6,007, up 600 from the year before. “But the degrees previous students obtained were not recognized at home, so they couldn’t apply for licenses or participate in civil service exams,” he added.
“We believe the new policy is a great encouragement to Malaysian students in Taiwan and will be an incentive for more students from the Southeast Asian country to study in Taiwan, further boosting bilateral academic exchanges and interactions.”
Lin is in Malaysia at the head of an MOE delegation. The five-day visit encompasses the 2012 Taiwan Higher Education Fair in Kuala Lumpur. (THN)
Write to Grace Kuo at mlkuo@mofa.gov.tw