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Saturday September 26, 2009

Towards a path of excellence

At Your Service by DATUK DR ZULKEFLI HASSAN


EDUCATION as a tool is the only resource that provides a level playing field.

It ensures one’s ability to compete in an arena which is not clouded by economics, race, colour, creed or gender. That is the strength of education, once acquired.

Dynamic changes in higher education worldwide, alongside Malaysia’s transition from a product-based to a knowledge-based economy, necessitate a drastic transformation in the country’s higher education institutions (HEIs), whether private or public.

The Government has placed great priority and much investment in ensuring Malaysia fulfils its aspirations as an international hub for educational excellence.

The 2007 National Higher Education Strategic Plan is focused on transforming our HEIs into world-class institutions.

That would be a significant milestone for the country. The plan demands great synergy from among the major players in the higher education “ecosystem” - universities, university colleges, polytechnics, community colleges and, indeed, the ministry itself, with all its agencies.

Tightly bound to the country’s National Mission (2006), our HEIs will play a pivotal role in responding to the needs spelt out in the plan, which sets out seven strategic thrusts.

They include widening access and increasing equity, improving the quality of teaching and learning, enhancing research and innovation, strengthening HEIs, intensifying internationalisation, enshrining lifelong learning, and reinforcing the delivery systems of the Higher Education Ministry.

This plan is to be delivered in four stages from 2007 until 2020 and beyond.

The five critical outcomes of this plan are governance, leadership, academia, teaching and learning, and research and development. In short, the plan calls for a rejuvenated and transformed higher education system.

At the core of successful higher education is enhancement of the quality of our human capital.

The final outcome must be nothing short of a first-class mentality, which the country needs to remain relevant and competitive globally.

One key area for improvement is ensuring sufficient funds are available to those in need, and appropriate funding mechanisms are well in place. Of equal importance is the quality of our HEIs: an often-debated subject is whether they are globally competitive.

The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) has been tasked with ensuring and safeguarding the quality of Malaysia’s HEIs.

The internationally benchmarked areas are curriculum, student intake and management, and staff competency and development.

Another key area is graduate employability. Collegial and aggressive efforts are taken to ensure Malaysia’s graduate employability rates are high and remain so. Efforts to increase industry involvement with academia are encouraged through the curriculum and efforts at collaboration.

The impact of globalisation today has made the internationalisation of our HEIs nothing short of imperative.

Not only has it become necessary for us to attract international students and staff, but of equal importance is making the HEIs competitive globally.

To enhance competitiveness and strengthen Malaysia’s position, the country needs to adopt and implement best-in-class practices.

This would include internationalisation programmes such as exchange of academics, students and courses, collaborative research and networking links with renowned universities.

The enrolment of international students from more than 150 countries in Malaysian HEIs has increased significantly from 18,242 in 2001 to 72,000 in June 2009.

The Government aims to increase the number to 80,000 by 2010.

Research and development (R&D) remains one area that has not seen its fullest potential.

Our R&D must be relevant to industry needs; it must bring commercial value to our market and economy.

It cannot be isolated from the nation’s growth. R&D must be in sync with industry to ensure we are able to cut through new edges and find new innovations.

An increase in the number of researchers, scientists and engineers in the country will boost our position in the global innovation capacity index.

By 2020, we aim to have at least six research universities, along with 20 international research centres of excellence, and a high proportion of our R&D products commercialised.

The Government is moving towards making our HEIs autonomous, which will provide greater freedom for HEIs to grow.

However, it also means that greater accountability is expected of them.

While it may be premature to provide total autonomy to all, gradual movement towards this has nevertheless taken place.

For instance, University Sains Malaysia (USM) has full autonomy in its student selection due to its apex status. With such autonomy, the University is made accountable for its input, output and outcome.

The Government wants to see more universities accorded such autonomy. However, this must be done cautiously as autonomy needs to deliver the quality and standards required in making our HEIs internationally competitive.

To ensure this transformation of our higher education succeeds, the ministry itself must see drastic transformation.

We need to strengthen our own delivery system to ensure excellence is delivered through our HEIs.

If we as the main driver do not change, we cannot expect the HEIs to embrace drastic transformation. Efforts are under way to transform the ministry from a regulator to a facilitator and driver of change.

The Government has raised the development allocation under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to RM18.4bil, an increase of 35.3% from the Eighth Malaysian Plan.

Our continued investment in higher education is founded on the core belief that everyone has a right to education.

It is every nation’s moral duty to ensure education reaches the remotest of places. Education defines a person, sets the path of a society, and directs the success of a nation and a civilisation.

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people may be engaged in.”

> Datuk Dr Zulkefli Hassan, the Higher Education Ministry secretary-general, was an educationist before taking up his present post and welcomes feedback at dzul@mohe.gov.my.

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