AL-AZHAR UNIVERSITY'S ENTRANCE TEST NOW CONDUCTED LOCALLY

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 (Bernama) -- All Malaysian Higher Religious Certificate
(STAM) students who aspire to pursue higher education at Egyptian's premier
university, the Al-Azhar University, can now take the entrance test locally,
conducted by Sofa Foundation.
Sofa Foundation president Dr Yusri Mohamad said prior to this, students were
required to sit for the test in Egypt but a change in the university’s policy
had now allowed the test to be conducted locally.

Students who failed in the test would be required to undergo a 10-month
basic Arabic course conducted by the university, he said.

"Since 2009, Al-Azhar University had been conducting the course in Cairo
following concerns over the inability of Malaysian students to master Arabic.

"However, starting this year, the test can be conducted locally due to the
cost involved in travelling there," he told a news conference to announce the
new policy at Sofa Foundation building in Ampang, here.


Student who passed the test would be offered places at the university, he
said.

The first test will take place on Sept 6-8 at the Royale Chulan Hotel Kuala
Lumpur, comprising oral and written exams.

Those wanting to pursue education at the Al-Azhar University can register
for the test with Sofa Foundation provided that they have the STAM
qualification.

Yusri said that based on the information from the Higher Education Ministry,
there were about 600 Malaysian students who had expressed interest to study at
the university.

At the moment, only Sofa Foundation is qualified to conduct the test in
Malaysia. The foundation can be contacted at 019-6072093 (Salahuddin Azarai).

Malaysian Higher Religious Certificate taken by religious schools' students.