JOHOR BAHRU, Feb 3 — Chinese nationals represent the largest group of international students registered at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) this year, said its deputy vice-chancellor (Students Affairs) Prof Dr Shamsul Sahibuddin.
He said this group was followed by students from Indonesia, Bangladesh, Egypt and Nigeria.
“Overall, UTM has around 31,000 students at the Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur campuses.
“Of the total, 4,000 people are international students, and the largest group is from China, with the majority of them pursuing their Doctorate of Philosophy studies (Teaching English as a Second Language), apart from majoring in technology, computer science and management,” he told a press conference after the ‘Majlis Amanat’ with UTM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Ahmad Fauzi Ismail at Dewan Sultan Iskandar, UTM here.
He added that the Johor Bahru campus has 21,000 students and the Kuala Lumpur campus has 10,000 students, while the Pagoh campus in Muar does not have any students as it serves as a research centre.
Meanwhile, Shamsul said UTM is aware of the needs and well-being of campus members, including students from low-income families (B40), and has implemented several programmes to ease their burden and help them to focus on their studies.
“Among the programmes implemented are food baskets, a RM3.50 menu, and ‘gerobok rezeki’ (food bank) at 11 residential colleges and two mosques at the Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur campuses.
“UTM has also responded to the government’s call to implement the Menu Rahmah programme to further ease the burden of these groups,” he added.
