Introduction

The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) was established on 27 March, 2004 with the intention of developing and creating a higher education environment to encourage the establishment of centers of knowledge, and the development of competent, innovative and ethical individuals thus fulfilling national and international aspirations.

The MOHE is responsible for developing an advantageous higher education ecosystem in Public and Private Institutions of Higher Education (PIHE and PvIHE respectively), Polytechnics and Community Colleges. These institutions are the main components in the ecosystem of higher education and national training to produce thinkers, scholars, scientists, and a skilled and semi skilled workforce.

MOHE is also to take charge of higher education in Malaysia which involves more than 900,000 students pursuing higher education in 20 public universities, 33 private universities and university colleges, 4 foreign university branch campuses, 22 polytechnics, 37 community colleges and about 500 private colleges. 

There are also other government agencies involved in higher education under the jurisdiction of MOHE; namely the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional – PTPTN) and Yayasan Tunku Abdul Rahman (YTAR).