Kuala Lumpur, June 21 Deputy Minister in the Malaysian Prime Minister's Department, S.K. Devamany, has said that India can be a good option for Malaysian students who want to study abroad, and vice-versa.

"Instead of travelling afar to Europe, students from India can come to Malaysia, where the cost of living is lower. The same applies to Malaysian students who are looking for alternative education options," he said.

Students, who are interested, can visit the two-day India Education Fair at the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre, Kuala Lumpur.

Twenty-six colleges and universities from India are participating in the exhibition.

Scholarships and subsidies are also available to students, depending on their academic qualifications.

Launching the fair, Devamany said the event aimed to have Malaysian students look at study options in India, the Government also looked forward to have more overseas private colleges build their campuses here.

India offers a wide variety of courses, including engineering, applied science, pharmacy, medicine and dentistry.

Industry player Dr C. Vijayakumar said: "An engineering student spends about 20,000 dollars on tuition fees per year to study in Europe. But it only costs about 5,000 dollars (RM17,500) to further one's study in India," he said. (ANI)