KUALA LUMPUR: Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) has secured tuition fee discounts of up to 30 per cent from several leading Australian universities, saving the agency between RM200,000 and RM300,000 in sponsorship costs per student.
Its chairman, Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, said the deal followed meetings with three Australian ministers and representatives from five major universities during a recent working visit.
"The meeting held last Sunday involved Australia's Education Minister Jason Clare, Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles, and Assistant Minister for International Education Julian Hill.
"Alhamdulillah, this mission was highly encouraging. We successfully completed four important engagements and achieved productive outcomes," he said in a TikTok post last night.
Asyraf Wajdi said the visit aimed to expand access to high-quality Australian institutions while reducing overseas sponsorship overheads.
He added that MARA and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi remained committed to strengthening Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) by widening study pathways.
"Our objective is to ensure students gain meaningful cross-border exposure while finding creative ways to increase the number of students sent abroad at lower costs," he said.
MARA is also exploring new collaboration models, including 2+2 or 3+1 programmes, which allow students to complete part of their degree in Malaysia before moving to Australia.
He said this approach would significantly reduce overall costs and enable more students to benefit from an overseas education.
Noting that Malaysia and Australia share a long history of education cooperation, Asyraf Wajdi said MARA intended to elevate the partnership as the agency celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.
He expressed hope that the Australian government and its universities would continue offering discounts to facilitate more MARA students in the future. - NST
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