The Education Ministry's decision to allow international schools to recruit more Malaysians - up to 40 percent of the student body - will create several challenges, said the principal of one such facility.

While ELC International School in Sungai Buloh is one of two facilities that has met this 'quota', its principal Margaret A Kaloo said no ceiling should be imposed.

"It will be good for the government to allow Malaysians to enrol in international schools because this will help promote (the country in becoming a) centre for excellence in education," she said in an email reply to malaysiakini questions.

"This should not be limited to 40 percent of students who fulfill the requirements approved by the ministry; more students should be encouraged (to apply for admission)."

Press reports in July on the ministry's decision said this would take effect in the next academic year.

Kaloo said, however, that some schools may not be well prepared for immediate implementation because of the conditions imposed for acceptance of Malaysian students.

"An example of a new condition is (that the students) must study Sejarah Malaysia taught in Bahasa Melayu by a Malaysian teacher," she pointed out.

"There is very little time to organise this, hence, some schools (may wait) until they are better organised to cope."

Grey areas found

Kaloo said the guidelines, although generally quite clear, contain some grey areas.

One of these is to assign priority to Malaysian students whose parents have worked abroad in either the public or private sector, and to parents who have business abroad, in order to attract foreign direct investment (FDI).

"I think this is an area that might well cause us some difficulties. I am not sure just how we can give them priority nor how we can know who is attracting FDI," she noted.

Asked about the impact of including mandatory local subjects, she said this would indirectly affect interaction between Malaysian and international students.

She said that having to make time for the subjects - Bahasa Melayu , Sejarah Malaysia , Ugama (Islamic studies) for Malay students and Moral Studies for non-Malays - could see Malaysian students probably missing out on co-curricular activities.

"In a way, it would create a two-tier system with Malaysian students being separated from the others, which may well not be healthy for them and may negate some of the positive reasons for attending international schools," she added.

According to the ministry, there are 32 international schools in Malaysia. Apart from ELC, the Tunku Putra International School in Kuching also has 40 percent of Malaysian students.

Strict conditions had been imposed for the admission of Malaysian students prior to the decision to relax criteria for intake.