Tuesday May 14, 2013

D-G: Output in education must match cash input

KUALA LUMPUR: The output from local institutions of higher learn-ing has to match the generous allocation given to the higher education sector every year, said Higher Education Department director-general Prof Dr Morshidi Sirat.

In the Universitas 21 Ranking of National Higher Education Systems (U21) released recently, Malaysia obtained a score of 70.9% under the resource criteria.

“Malaysia scored higher than developed countries such as South Korea and Germany in our expenditure for higher education, yet we are lagging behind other countries in the output criteria,” Prof Morshidi told reporters at the 4th Asia-Europe Meeting of Ministers (Asem) for Education yesterday.

He urged institutions of higher learning to show better results by publishing more academic papers and improving research and development activities.

“We should strive to be like the institutions from Western nations where the output-to-input ratio is high.

“At the same time, the Government, too, should not reduce spending on higher education to ensure the continuous growth of this sector,” said Prof Morshidi.

U21 conducted its study based on the elements of resources, environment, connectivity and out- put.

Malaysia was ranked 27th out of the 50 countries surveyed, moving up the rung from 36 out of 48 countries last year.

Prof Morshidi said activities organised by Asem contributed toward the growth of local higher education as they increased the mobility of students to facilitate the exchange of ideas.

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