Kota Kinabalu: Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) recorded a drop in the enrolment of both local and international students based on the number of those who registered for the 2015/2016 intake. Its Vice Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Mohd Harun Abdullah on Monday said the figure showed a decrease by eight per cent previously which amounted to intake of 4, 865 students. However, the figure excludes those still in the process of appealing to enter the university.
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Among the 4,481 new student intake, a total of 2, 021 were from Sabah whereas 1, 941 from peninsula, 381 from Sarawak and 138 comprised international students. "There is a decline of 16 per cent in the number of international students' intake. However, there is an increase in terms of the diversity of countries.
"Before, we did not have students coming from Saudi Arabia but this time we do and we also have students from the United States. This is a good sign because it shows that UMS is being increasingly accepted by other countries," he said, adding this is in line with efforts to internationalise the university.
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"We have implemented various strategies this year and one of them is by offering three intakes for international students," he added. The international students hail from 23 different countries with 89 of them from China, 14 from Brunei, six from Fiji, two from Germany, India, Indonesia, Tanzania, Yemen, Pakistan and Maldives, respectively and others.
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Harun said most foreign students were attracted to pursue their studies in Sabah due to its beautiful and unique natural environment."Besides, Sabah is very famous for its seafood and the security is guaranteed. The number of crime cases here is low unlike in other bigger cities," he said, adding that the entry of international students into the State would contribute to the nation's income and offer local students the opportunity to interact with them. He also reported an increase in number of students who majored in Science subjects from 40.8 per cent to 43.4 per cent. "This shows the strategies which we implemented for the past three years have shown its impact especially now that we have the Centre for Foundation Studies in Science. This will definitely help us to increase the intake of students majoring in Science subjects," he said. The university, according to him, also offered 100 places to students from poor family backgrounds throughout Sabah. "This is part of our Community Social Responsibility (CSR) programme which was initiated three years ago. It is aimed at helping students from rural areas who have financial difficulties."We will make sure that they receive the required assistance and will be given priority to live at the hostel."This year, the university also accepted 19 disabled students. For their convenience, they will all stay at the ground floor of the hostel," he said, adding that students' welfare has always been the university's main priority.
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Meanwhile, Harun said they will get information from the university's security regarding the students' involvement in the recent Bersih 4.0 street protest."I do not want to specifically comment on this matter but I was informed that there were only a few students who were involved in the Bersih 4.0 street protest," he said.
