By Noimot Olayiwola/Staff ReporterSeven of the best higher education institutions in Malaysia will be showcased at a two-day exhibition beginning tomorrow at the Crowne Plaza Business Park Doha.Touted as the emerging hub of higher education in southeast Asia, Malaysia presently has 21 public universities, five branch campuses of UK and Australian universities and more than 33 private universities and over 500 higher education institutions that provide a diverse range of courses in various areas of specialisation.Among the universities taking part in the education fair are University of Technology Petronas, University of Malaysia Pahang, Help University, University of Nottingham, SEGi University, Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation and Sunway University.The education exhibition, being held for the first time in Qatar, is expected to provide more insights into the process of schooling in Malaysia to both aspiring Qataris and expatriate students alike.The event is being co-hosted by Apex and Event Qatar, Dubai-based Fair Organisers and My Aspiration from Malaysia and also being supported by Education Malaysia and the Embassy of Malaysia in Qatar.The exhibition will be held tomorrow from 4pm-9pm and on Saturday from 11am-9pm at Crowne Plaza Business Park.Speaking yesterday at the press conference held at the Crowne Plaza to announce the event, Malaysian ambassador to Qatar, Dato Ahmad Jazri said that Malaysia had been ranked 11th preferred destination for higher education learning and quality educational facilities by the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural organisation (Unesco).“Malaysia is serious and committed to the cause of education and programmes on offer in our universities and higher institutions of learning meet international standards, which is why we have over 71,000 foreign students presently studying in the country,” he said.The official also said that among the foreign students were some 25,134 students from the Middle East and North Africa including some 24 Qatari students. According to him, the target is to reach more than 100,000 foreign students base soon.The ambassador also said that Malaysia had for the past three years, been a preferred destination for Qatari tourists including the honeymooners, aside from ranking number one Islamic tourism country in the world.My Aspiration managing director Marliza Zorakin Malek explained that Malaysian education sector is keen to tap into the Qatari market, especially among the expatriate community.“Qatar is still a small market to Malaysia’s education sector as we only have 24 Qatari students currently studying in our country. And among the top 20 countries where most students come from are those in the Mena and the entire region such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen and Iraq.“We also have students from the Indian sub-continent with around 3000 Indian students population and others from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka,” she said.Malek said that more branch campuses of universities from Korea and China will soon open in Malaysia.In a presentation about the expo, Apex and Event Qatar official Safuvan maintained that the affordable tuition and cost of living is making studying in Malaysia very attractive.“Malaysia has become a preferred destination for students from around the world due to a number of factors including the affordable tuition; immigration laws, which makes processing of visa very easy and faster; quality options; and diverse and hospitable Malaysian culture,” he explained.He said average yearly tuition fee in Malaysia is $5000 compared to $22,000 and $14,000 in the US and the UK respectively while student’s average yearly cost of living in Malaysia is $3,000 against $13,000 in the US.“A tuition fee that would cost $17,000 per year worldwide and average education cost per year of $35,000, will cost $9,000 and around $13,700 per year in Malaysia,” he said.He also maintained that a student who graduates from a Malaysian branch campus gets a degree that is on par with his counterpart who studied at the US campus.Also present at the press meet were representatives of some of the universities taking part in the fair.