00:00For years, Malaysian students were told that a UK degree in Malaysia
00:04carried the same weight as one earned in the United Kingdom.
00:08The promise was simple, study closer to home, pay less, and still graduate with a British qualification.
00:16But last week, that promise was shaken.
00:20The British government has now drawn a line between UK degrees earned in the UK
00:24and UK degrees issued outside the UK.
00:27The change affects 850 Malaysian medical graduates from Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia, or NUMED.
00:36Under the UK's new Medical Training Prioritization Act,
00:39they will no longer be given priority places for medical training in the UK.
00:43Instead, they have been placed on a waiting list.
00:47For economist Geoffrey Williams, this is more than a technical policy change.
00:51It is the first formal signal from the British government
00:54that UK degrees from overseas campuses are not the same as degrees earned in the UK.
01:00Williams says this could end a long-running marketing claim by UK franchise universities in Malaysia.
01:07For years, these campuses promoted their degrees as equivalent to UK qualifications.
01:12But the British government's position now suggests otherwise.
01:16UK Health Secretary Wesley Streeting described overseas medical campuses as commercial ventures.
01:24He said prioritizing their students would undermine sustainable workforce planning in the UK.
01:31Williams says UK franchise campuses had chances to raise their concerns.
01:35Three UK ministers visited Malaysia last year, including Foreign Secretary David Lammy,
01:41ASEAN Indo-Pacific Minister Catherine West, and Skills Minister Jackie Smith.
01:46Jackie Smith also met the heads of UK franchise campuses in Malaysia.
01:52If the campus leaders were consulted, Williams says, they appear to have been ineffective.
01:57If they were not consulted, they appear to have been irrelevant.
02:02The issue goes beyond one medical school.
02:05Around 43,000 Malaysians were enrolled in UK transnational education programs last year.
02:11Williams estimates that these programs generated about 5 billion ringgit in revenue.
02:17Malaysia's five UK franchise campuses alone have about 8,500 students.
02:22Together, they bring in an estimated 450 million ringgit to 500 million ringgit each year.
02:29For Williams, this shows that UK education in Malaysia is not just about learning.
02:35It is also big business.
02:38Health Minister Zulkifli Ahmad said the Malaysian government would absorb all 850 NUMED students
02:43into housemanship training in Malaysia.
02:46But his office later clarified that international NUMED graduates
02:49are not eligible because of Malaysian Medical Council citizenship restrictions.
02:55That means local students have been given a lifeline.
02:58But international students remain stranded.
03:02A representative of the NUMED students said international students had always understood
03:07Malaysia's local restrictions.
03:08That was why they came to NUMED for what they believed was a UK pathway.
03:14Now, they say the rules have changed midway.
03:17They have an equivalent degree, but no clear professional home.
03:21One expat parent said the UK government should have protected students who were already enrolled.
03:27She said the change should have been grandfathered,
03:29so existing students were not caught by new rules imposed midway through their studies.
03:34She now questions how NUMED will attract future batches of students.
03:39For Williams, this is now the biggest question facing NUMED.
03:44If future students lose confidence, the campus itself could be at risk.
03:49And if one UK-franchised campus is shaken, others may feel the impact too.
03:55The wider concern is what this means for Malaysia's ambition to become an international education hub.
04:02For the full opinion piece, read Have the British Killed Malaysia's International Student Dreams
04:07by economist Jeffrey Williams on FMT
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