Malaysia has told some 270 private colleges enrolling foreign students to reapply for new licenses in a bid to curb rampant abuse of student visas, according to media reports today.

Private education department deputy director-general Hassan Hashim was quoted by the New Straits Times as saying the colleges had six months to get new licenses, failing which they would be barred from taking in foreign students.

The new ruling came after joint raids by the authorities revealed "rampant and blatant" abuse of international student visas, he said.

Some colleges were found selling student visas for a few thousand ringgit each to syndicates, which used it to bring in foreigners, mainly from China, to work.

Prostitution and vice

Two colleges have been identified for recruiting 30 foreign students and luring them into prostitution and vice, and another 18 colleges used their permit to recruit 200-300 foreign workers, he was quoted as saying by The Star .

"We want to be a centre of educational excellence but we're a long way from it because of the small number of errant institutions that are giving the industry a bad name. This has to stop," Hassan added.

Premises to be checked

Under the new guidelines, Hassan said the department would also check the premises of every college to ensure better welfare for some 13,000 foreign students in the country.

There are currently 536 private colleges in Malaysia, with only 277 allowed to recruit foreign students.

According to the New Straits Times , the number of students from China and Saudi Arabia has increased to 4,728 and 447 respectively in the first half this year from 4,504 and 243 last year. AFP