Education

Sunday September 2, 2007

Transforming higher education

The two plans just launched by the Higher Education Ministry, say educators, embody a clear vision and appropriate action.

Stories by KAREN CHAPMAN, SARAH CHEW and EE-LYN TAN

TRIGGERING higher education transformation – that is the commitment of the Higher Education Ministry in its move to transform the landscape of tertiary education in Malaysia.

And how it intends to achieve this is spelt out in two documents, the National Higher Education Strategic Plan and National Higher Education Action Plan 2007-2010.

The 168-page strategic plan, Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed points out, covers the longer term.

Abdullah (left) with a copy of the National Higher Education Strategic Plan. Looking on are Mustapa and Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
“It sets forth the vision for the transformation of higher education in Malaysia from now to 2020 and beyond,” he says.

Designed to be comprehensive, it contains high-level plans covering both new initiatives and existing programmes.

And the seven thrusts of the plan are certainly broad-based: widening access and enhancing quality; improving the quality of teaching and learning; enhancing research and innovation; strengthening institutions of higher education; intensifying internationalisation; enculturation of lifelong learning; and reinforcing the ministry's delivery system.

Critical implementation mechanisms and schedules are spelt out in the slimmer 51-page action plan, the first in a series of shorter-term plans for each of the four phases of the transformation – laying the foundation; strengthening and enhancement; excellence; glory and sustainability.

In addition, there is assurance that these plans will not fall by the wayside like some other far-reaching plans and the implementation will be transparent.

To make certain objectives are met, Mustapa says, the ministry will conduct a mid-term review to ensure the execution of the plan remains focused and effective.

“There is no harm in making the review public,” he adds.

Laying the foundation

DR WAN ZAHID: The plans have put everything in tangible terms, which means they can be implemented immediately.
The two plans, launched on Monday by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, are based on extensive discussions and consultations with all stakeholders.

It was clear, shares the minister, that a radical move was needed to re-energise higher education in the country.

“We know it's not just the plans. The delivery is equally vital.

“And we want results.We want to see students and professionals dominate citadels of excellence,” he says.

Excellence is indeed the operative word, and during the launch, Abdullah announced three measures to help higher education institutions (HEIs) grow in quality and achieve world-class standards.

With immediate effect, according to him, all public universities will be given autonomy to decide on certain matters. The universities, however, have also been reminded that this greater freedom comes with added responsibility and accountability.

At the same time, for the purposes of monitoring quality, the ministry will also be setting up an audit unit as it needs an independent assessment of HEIs.

The unit will focus on academic audits only.

In addition, the Government will identify apex universities – centres of academic excellence – from among the HEIs. (See accompanying story)

DR PARMJIT: We were involved from the start and know a lot of thought has gone into these plans.
The triple A's

The move to jointly introduce autonomy, the audit process and apex universities, referred to as the triple A's, has been well received.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin says the triple A's are good concepts as they lay the foundation for the future.

“Giving greater autonomy to the board of directors is an essential step in allowing universities to move faster in the direction of apex universities.

“And the audit is a natural consequence of greater autonomy to safeguard transparency and accountability,” she adds.

As former Education director-general Tan Sri Dr Wan Zahid Noordin sees it, the granting of autonomy is “a great thing to happen”.

Previously, he says, public HEIs had to refer to the ministry for everything.

“With autonomy, the boards of directors at public HEIs will be like the private sector; they will be responsible for their actions,” he observes.

The audit will help “put the house in order”, he says, adding that the ministry must be commended for being bold enough to introduce it as the outcome cannot be anticipated.


Click on image to view full graphic
“Everyone will be evaluated without fear or favour as this is being carried out independently,” he adds.

Former Universiti Sains Malaysia deputy vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Sharom Ahmat, however, points out that while public universities will be given more autonomy, this covers only certain matters.

“Autonomy, to be real and meaningful, must extend beyond expanding financial resources to include curriculum, teaching and learning, research and innovation, students, management and administration, infrastructure and institutional environment,” he notes.

Dr Sharom believes the establishment of an audit unit to evaluate academic achievement, and to ensure that quality is never compromised, is more than welcome in view of the public's negative perception of the state of higher education today.

“It is a relief also to see that this unit will comprise experts and not ministry officials.

“Given the objective of benchmarking Malaysian universities against international standards, it will be good to include a few foreign experts in the field of tertiary education quality assurance to give the unit greater integrity and transparency,” he adds.

A bold move

The triple A's aside, response to the two plans in general have also been very positive.

Dr Wan Zahid describes them as bold.

“The minister and his team have to be commended for these clearly articulated plans. The fundamentals have been identified and the actions to go with them are just as clear,” he says.

The plans, he adds, have put everything in tangible terms, which means they can be implemented immediately.

Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities president Dr Parmjit Singh is pleased that the private sector was consulted in the drawing up of the plans.

“We were involved from the start and know a lot of thought has gone into the formulation of these plans.

“There were consultations, then we gave our feedback and adjustments were made, so in that sense, I think the plans are quite realistic,” he says.

And for the first time in the history of higher education in the country, shares Dr Sharom, who is also University Brunei Darussalam academic adviser, a comprehensive long-term plan has materialised.

“The philosophy, the concepts, the five pillars and the seven thrust areas can only be described as awesome,” he says.

But, he cautions, the execution of the plan must be equally awesome.

It will require the nation’s best independent, innovative and creative minds to translate the plan into reality, he adds.

“It is clear that the Prime Minister and the Higher Education Minister mean business when they made it clear that quality and academic excellence must be the primary objectives of higher education in Malaysia,” he opines.

According to the action plan, a programme management office will be set up to drive the overall transformation and to spearhead the development of the project management capability within the ministry.

“We hope to set this up within the next few weeks as we need to speak to Khazanah Nasional first,” says Mustapa.

Extra skills

However, not everyone is happy about everything in the two plans.

One area addressed in the action plan is that of graduate unemployment. According to the plan, the issue stems from the lack of appreciation of the different roles that education and training play. While education should provide general skills and a good orientation towards work, particularly in the context of building positive attitudes, specific vocational skills fall within the range of training.

The plan has provided for a Graduate Training Scheme under its critical agenda.

Elaborating on this scheme, Mustapa says students graduating from general courses will be provided with opportunities to acquire specific career skills to prepare them for the workplace.

However, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Sulaiman Md Yassin feels that universities are not responsible for teaching job-related skills.

“University is about discovering knowledge which will help you find jobs,” he adds.

Instead of a separate scheme, he suggests that the imparting of such skills be embedded within the teaching system.

Meanwhile, Dr Wan Zahid welcomes the ministry's intention to improve its service delivery system, which is clearly stated in the action plan.

“This is certainly praise-worthy as this means the pressure is now on the ministry to perform,” he adds.

In the past, according to the plan, the roles of the ministry have been more those of a regulator and an enforcer of government policies.

“These roles will still be played by the ministry but it will emphasise its role as facilitator and lead partner in enhancing the higher education eco-system,” it states.

“As lead partner, it will not only provide strategic direction but also the support necessary to ensure the success of the institutions.”

What others say

”THE apex universities are going to become premier institutions, so they must have all the best ingredients to lead by example. It is going to go beyond research universities.”

– International Islamic University Malaysia rector Prof Datuk Dr Syed Arabi Idid

“IT is a good idea to increase competition among universities so that they have to work harder to stay in front.” – Universiti Putra Malaysia vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Nik Mustapha Raja Abdullah

“THE strategic plan is fantastic as it provides a clear direction. It is challenging but we can do it.” – Universiti Malaya vice-chancellor Datuk Rafiah Salim

“THE Government is very clear about where it wants to bring higher education in the country.” – INTI International University College president Dr Lee Fah Onn

“THE strategic plan is in line with our university's own 10-year plan as we also want to build our human resources and infrastructure.” – Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Ismail Bakar

“THE establishing of apex universities is good as this will encourage the country's universities to strive harder to be in the top league.” – United Nations University-International Institute for Global Health director and former Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia vice-chancellor Tan Sri Dr Mohamed Salleh Mohamed Yasin “WE have a better sense of direction in terms of what the Government wants to achieve as a centre for educational excellence.” – Binary University College founder and vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Joseph Adaikalam

Related Story:
Reaching for the top

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