Our Edu system world class among third world nations: Don
Published on: Friday, February 27, 2015
Selangor: Malaysia's higher education system still needs improvement before it can be compared to the likes of the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia, said several academicians.University Malaysia Sarawak Economics and Business Faculty dean Prof Dr Shazali Abu Mansor said while Malaysia was an attractive place for foreign students to pursue their education because of the infrastructure and stability, the country had yet to attain a quality that could be described as "world class"."If you compare our education system to less developed countries, of course we would look world class. But to compare ourselves to Germany and Britain is far from fair.
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"The United Kingdom and other developed nations have established higher education system for hundreds of years and we have not been at it for 50. We cannot expect to be outstanding overnight."He said increasing the quality of higher learning was a gradual process.Dr Shazali was commenting on a statement by Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh that Malaysia's higher education was now on par with developed countries. Idris justified this by referring to the 135,000 foreign students who make up 10 per cent of students at national higher education institutions.He said Malaysia was now the ninth most popular destination for foreign students in various fields like engineering, agriculture and ICT.
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University Malaysia College of Law, Government and International Studies Assoc. Prof Dr Muhammad Fuad Othman believed Malaysia benefited from the comparatively lower cost of tuition fees, which may explain the number of foreign students.He also said the government could improve the quality by attracting the best and brightest academicians from around the world to spearhead networking of local higher learning institutions with renowned universities.
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"More attractive wages and perks must be offered to entice foreign academics to work and teach here and at the same time, persuade our best students to remain in the country," he said. "As an added value, English proficiency programmes must be established in local universities with special focus on communication and leadership skills." Academician Dr James Alin suggested it was time to consider elections for administrative posts such as vice-chancellor, faculty dean or director to ensure higher education institutions did not became stagnant."Academicians who hold administrative posts in higher education are consumed by being status-conscious and most of the time are obsessed with how to please political masters rather than looking after their peers and the institution they are in charge of," he said.He also proposed higher education be improved in a holistic and comprehensive manner.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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