PENANG, September 2014 – The public and parents need to change their perception of higher education, not just focusing on higher education offered via public universities, but also via polytechnics and institutions that provide TVET (Technical, Vocational Education and Training) skills.

Speaking to reporters after officiating the opening of the Regional Focal Points Meeting (Asia) here recently, Director-General of Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education Malaysia, Professor Dato’ Dr. Asma Ismail said that the intake of students this year for tertiary education has increased from 40,000 to 42,000.

"However, the places that are available at all public universities are limited; only those who excelled and met all the requirements are given a place. This goes to show that there is intense competition to enter universities and only candidates with excellent results are given a place," said Asma.

She was asked to comment on the view that many students who failed to enter university this year.

Asma added that it is time for parents and students to look at opportunities to pursue first degree through various TVET institutions of higher learning that also provide opportunities to continue studies at postgraduate level (Master’s and Doctoral degrees) at public universities.

At present, TVET institutions of higher learning not including private universities have more than 60,000 places available for first degree and diploma studies, promising more employment opportunities after graduation.

Asked to comment on the performance of five public universities in the QS World Rankings released recently, Asma said that she was pleased with the results shown by all the participating universities, particularly with the high-impact research and publication which has become the main focus of evaluation.

“We are grateful to the government and leaders of the universities who were responsible for such a sterling performance, especially with the environment and infrastructure developed by the government which took quite some time to reach such positions among the world’s top universities,” said Asma.

All the five research universities (RU) managed to climb in the ranks of the top 400 universities in the world this time.

Asma also paid tribute to the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) for being able to make their debut in the QS World Rankings.

Asma pointed out that besides the QS World Rankings, there are also different rankings available internationally and their criteria and assessment methodologies vary.

She added that these rankings should be considered rather than confining to the adoption of “QS World University Rankings”.

Earlier, during the opening of the Regional Focal Points Meeting (Asia), Asma requested for efforts to be made in establishing a framework that enables Quality Benchmark be made in the transfer of credits among universities involved in this cooperation, particularly among Commonwealth countries.

“Perhaps we need to think about setting up a consortium to spearhead the offering of study programmes that are available, not only in Asia but to the Commonwealth countries as well,” said Asma.

She added that we need to move in that direction if we want to realise the life-long learning programme and provide greater opportunities for learning among the population. It is also possible for us to face competition in terms of price, language, and accreditation in the education sector of the world which is growing at a rate of 12% in Asia over the last 10 years.

Malaysia is currently ranked 12th in the list of countries favoured by overseas students.

According to Asma, it is not only related to access to education through distance learning and online learning among Malaysians with foreign institutions, but also for Malaysia to share its expertise with other institutions worldwide.

“The rapid changes in the global and online learning is a method of learning of the future which will determine how future generations can have the opportunity of higher education via Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) that render time and location anywhere in the world irrelevant,” said Asma.

Education is no longer based on a common curriculum for all but can be tailored according to the needs of students’ background and education one received.

Regional Focal Points Meeting (Asia), hosted by USM National Higher Education Research Institute (IPPTN), was held from 17 to 19 September. It was attended by experts in various fields from Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka under the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) which is headquartered in Canada.

Also present were the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of COL, Professor Dr. Asha S. Kanwar; Dean of the School of Distance Education, Associate Professor Dr. Mustafa Fadzil Farid Wajidi who represented the Vice-Chancellor; and the IPPTN Director, Professor Dr. Ahmad Nurulazam Md. Zain.

This meeting was themed “to explore education and the use of technology and distance learning methods in sustainable development.” Its main focus was to see and determine the key priorities, the needs of education and training in Asia, and COL’s role in addressing these needs and issues in the region. - Translation: Yong Check Yoon & Tan Ewe Hoe/Text: Mohamad Abdullah/Photo: Mohd. Fairus Md. Isa