An education official from Singapore said last week that Myanmar will soon be near the top of the list in numbers of foreign students from Asia attending universities in his country.

“There are 80,000 international students in Singapore, including those from Myanmar,” said Mr John Conceicao, the assistant director of the Education Market Development Department of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
“The Asian countries we target for recruitment include China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, India, Myanmar and South Korea,” he said.

With the number of students from Myanmar increasing year by year, “Myanmar will be near the top of the list in a few years,” he said.

Mr Conceicao was speaking to The Myanmar Times at the Second Singapore Education Fair 2007 organised by STB and at Traders Hotel on September 1 and 2.

Mr Robert Chua, Singapore’s ambassador to Myanmar, said in his opening speech at the event that the steady growth in the number of local students studying in Singapore could be attributed to several factors, including “Singapore’s geographical proximity, a safe and secure environment and an English-speaking cosmopolitan and Asian cultural environment.”

“The aim of the exhibition is to help Myanmar students choose good schools where they can continue their education,” he said.

Ms Mawar Quek, STB’s area director for Thailand and Myanmar, pointed out that the fair featured exhibitions by 21 education institutions, up from 15 last year, another indication of the growing market for Singapore schools among Myanmar students.

“We are here to build brand awareness about Singapore so Myanmar’s population can learn what studying and living in Singapore mean,” she said.
Mr Conceicao said the exhibition also provided detailed information to students who might have first heard about Singapore universities through education agents in Myanmar.

“This year STB has appointed five Singapore education agents in Myanmar to help students avoid being overcharged by other agents,” he said. “We encourage Myanmar students who are interested in Singapore to consult these agents because these are trained by us.”