Image via WikipediaKota Kinabalu: Canada is alternative for Sabah students planning affordable and world-class education, abroad, said State Education Exco Member Datuk Masidi Manjun."Normally when we think of studying overseas, it's either UK or AustraliaÉI think it's time for us to emphasise the need to find new places.
"We need to make smart decision and not just a decision where to send our children É Canada is far but education wise, it is a potential country for our students to seek knowledge.
"We need to find new environment and environment shape the way we are and the way we think. It's not just about passing grade É We should look beyond our normal thinking," he said at the Canadian Education fair 2011 in Hyatt Hotel, Tuesday.
The High Commission of Canada in Malaysia hosted the Education Fairs in the State capital in hope of attracting more Sabahans to choose Canada as their first choice of education.
Masidi stressed that students and parents must first think of financial aspect as a whole and secondly the education environmental aspect and last but not least the affordability before choosing to study abroad.
"Studying in UK or even in Australia is much expensiveÉbut Canada offers affordable education compared to other countries.
Also the good thing about studying there is that it is legal to work while you are studying," he added.
Senior Trade Commissioner of Canada High Commission in Malaysia Douglas Bingeman said Canada offers flexibility with respect to employment and immigration.
"For students interested in a job during their study it is possible to work up to 20 hours on or off-campus in most Canadian provinces.
Even for students who do not need to work this provides an excellent opportunity to experience Canada and bring back this valuable experience to Malaysia."
He added that over 600 Malaysian students chose to study in Canada every year.
"More than 70,000 Malaysians have studied in Canada since the days of the Colombo Plan, many of them from East Malaysia.
He also said that most Malaysians who studied in Canada applied for courses such as engineering, business and actuarial science, among others.
"Average annual tuition fees are approximately $13,000 (about RM40,000). Most universities in Canada are public and partly funded by the various levels of government.
"The quality of education is also very high and importantly, consistent from one institution to another.
Indeed four Canadian universities ranked in the top 100 in he last Webometric world university ranking," he said.
He further stressed that Canada remains "a safe and welcoming multi-ethnic place to live and the lifestyle is second to none", adding quality of life indicators consistently put Canada at or near the top this regard.
