HONG KONG — Malaysia is working on turning an area of gritty industrial towns and villages into EduCity, a massive new education complex that will include the branches of 10 foreign schools, including several universities, business and sports institutes, and two private prep schools.
Kristiano Ang visited the dusty construction sites that are expected to become immaculately planned campuses housing 16,000 students. Currently, only a few EduCity schools are operational; but if all goes according to plan, the full project will be open by 2017.
Western institutions have been weighing the pros and cons of expanding East: Costs are relatively low, local governments are supportive, and the potential for growth is huge. But there can be cultural or political differences to overcome. There is also no way to predict if Asian campuses will give students the same quality of education, and the same freedoms, as in these schools’ home campuses.
Some EduCity educators, accustomed to working with relative independence in the West, now have to check with the government on everything from staffing to fees and admissions.
While at EduCity, Kristiano toured the new Marlborough College Malaysia, an extension of an elite British boarding school, complete with wooden desks, checkered uniforms and the master’s house overlooking the cricket ground.
He and Yenni Kwok in Hong Kong look at the rise of elite prep schools opening branches in the region. Harrow, the British institution founded in the 16th century, added to its Beijing and Bangkok branches with a new school in Hong Kong in September. Also this autumn, Branksome Hall, a century-old private girls’ school in Toronto, opened a campus on Jeju, a resort island in South Korea.
All three got support from local governments, either in terms of land use, interest-free loans or preferential tax treatment.
There are several reasons Asian states are opening their doors to foreign institutions: They want to minimize brain drain as more students head to the West. They are also catering to the wishes of a rising upper class, who are enamored with Western brand names, whether they are attached to designer purses or high schools.
Should Asian governments help foreign private institutions when poor local schools in the region lack basic resources? Can you replicate a Western education in Asia?
IHT Rendezvous: An Education City Takes Shape
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IHT Rendezvous: An Education City Takes Shape
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IHT Rendezvous: An Education City Takes Shape
