Institutional Restructuring in Higher Education:

Asian Universities
Country Report: Malaysia
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Imran Ho Abdullah, Muhammad ahaya !
Mohd" Abd" Rashid Mohd" #ad$il
C%&'E&'(
List of Tables & Figures iii
Chapter 1 Introduction
National Challenges in Higher Education
1. The challenges
2. National governance of higher education
1!
Chapter 2 The Institutional Conte"t
II. The #esponse of $%&
1. ' brief histor( of $%&
2. The challenges and the restructuring e"ercise at
$%&
). The restructuring process
*. The rationale and principles in the restructuring
+1+
Chapter ) I,ple,entation of #estructuring in $%&
III. The -resent .tud(
1. /b0ectives
2. ' description of selected co,ponents of the
,ethodolog(
1121
Chapter * Constraints in I,ple,entation of #estructuring
&easures
Introduction
I2. Findings and 3iscussion
1. 3ata su,,ar(
22))
Chapter 4 I,pact of #estructuring on universit(
functioning 5perceptions6
1 Introduction
2. Conclusion and #eco,,endations
)*)4
Chapter ! Conclusions and #eco,,endations )!
#eferences
ii
)I(' %# 'A*)E( ! #I+URE(
#I+URE(
Figure 17 Challenges to Higher Education in &ala(sia *
'A*)E(
Table 17 Total Enrol,ent and staff statistics in &ala(sian8s -ublic Institutes of
Higher Learning 529926 *
Table 2. /b0ectives and &ethodolog( of the stud( 1:
Table ). ;uestionnaire #esponse #ate 29
Table *7 For,at of the ;uestionnaire 29
Table 47 'reas of ,a0or changes according to groups surve(ed 24
Table !. 'd,inistrators8 opinion on the benefits of restructuring 2!
Table +. 'cade,ic .taffs8 opinion on the benefits of restructuring 2!
Table 1. .upport .taffs8 opinion on the benefits of restructuring 2+
Table :. .tudents8 opinion on the i,prove,ents brought about b( the
restructuring
2+
Table 19. /pinion on the level of autono,( in the restructuring 21
Table 11. 'cade,ic .taffs8 opinion on certain aspects of the acade,ic
restructuring. 2:
Table 12. .upport staffs8 opinion on the effect of institutional restructuring.
)9
Table 1). .tudents8 opinion on so,e aspects of restructuring. )1
iii
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Development of Higher Eduction in !l"#i
Higher education in &ala(sia has to be seen in the light of the develop,ent of the
education s(ste, in toto. The education s(ste, as e,bodied in the National Education
-hilosoph( states that7
Education in &ala(sia is an ongoing effort to<ards further developing the
potential of individuals in a holistic and integrated ,anner= so as to
produce individuals <ho are intellectuall(= spirituall(= e,otionall( and
ph(sicall( balanced and har,onious= based on a fir, belied in and
devotion to >od. .uch an effort is designed to produce &ala(sian citi?ens
<ho are @no<ledgeable and responsible and capable of achieving a high
level of personal <ellbeing as <ell as being able to contribute to the
har,on( and better,ent of the fa,il(= the societ( and the nation at large.
The universities as the pinnacle of the education s(ste, provide the necessar( advanced
training and capacit( building of the nation8s hu,an resource in order to ,eet the ,ulti
faceted needs of the nation.
The first universit( in &ala(sia <as established on 1 /ctober 1:*: as a national
institution to serve the higher education needs of the Federation of &ala(a and
.ingapore. The gro<th of the $niversit( <as ver( rapid during the first decade of its
establish,ent and this resulted in the setting up of t<o autono,ous 3ivisions in 1:4:=
one located in .ingapore and the other in %uala Lu,pur. In 1:!9= the govern,ent of the
t<o territories indicated their desire to change the status of the 3ivisions into that of a
national universit(. Legislation <as passed in 1:!1 founding the $niversit( of &ala(a
on 1st Aanuar( 1:!2. The late si"ties and earl( seventies sa< an e"pansion of in higher
education <ith the establish,ent of four ,ore universities. These included $niversiti
.ains &ala(sia 5established 1:!:6= $niversiti %ebangsaan &ala(sia 5established 1:+96=
$niversiti -utra &ala(sia 5established in 1:+1 as $niversiti -ertanian &ala(sia fro, an
a,alga,ation of the 'griculture Facult(= $niversiti &ala(a and the .erdang 'griculture
College6 and $niversiti Te@nologi &ala(sia 5established in 1:+4 through the upgrading
of the National Institute of Technolog(6.
The ne"t phase in the e"pansion ca,e in the eighties <ith the establish,ent of $niversiti
&ala(sia .abah= $niversiti &ala(sia .ara<a@ and $niversiti $tara &ala(sia.
In line <ith the nation8s need and e"panding de,and for higher education= five universit(
colleges <ere established in the nineties7
Currentl(= there are 11 public institutes of higher learning 5universities and college
universities6 in &ala(sia. The difference bet<een the universities and college universities
is in ter,s of si?e and focus. Bhile ,ost universities are co,prehensive= the college
universities offer specialisation in selected disciplines and fields of stud(. The 2992
enrol,ent and staff statistics at the various public institutes of higher learning are
presented in Table 1.
Table 1: Total enrolment and staff statistics in Malaysias
public institutes of higher learning (2002)
Nu,ber
3iplo,a :9=999
$ndergraduates 299=999
-ostgraduates )9=999
/versea students 4=299
'cade,ic staff 1!=999
Nonacade,ic staff 22=999

#ecentl( 299*7 &inistr( of Higher Education establishedC for the first ti,eD
$niversiti &ala(a
$niversiti .ains &ala(sia
$niversiti %ebangsaan &ala(sia
$niversiti -utra &ala(sia
$niversiti Te@nologi &ala(sia
$niversiti Institute &'#'
$niversiti &ala(sia .abah
$niversiti &ala(sia .ara<a@
$niversiti $tara &ala(sia
%ole0 $niversiti Te@ni@al
%ole0 $niversiti Isla, &ala(sia
%ole0 $niversiti
1.$ Recent Reform# Effort# in Higher Eduction
Higher education is an integral co,ponent in achieving &ala(sia8s vision to<ards being
a developed nation. The ,ain ob0ective of higher education is to provide Eualified and
high Eualit( <or@ force for the nation8s develop,ent. 5Hassan .aid 299)6. ' specialist
2
and @no<ledgeable <or@ force <ill provide the catal(st for gro<th and progress in an era
of global co,petition and co,petitiveness.

Conco,itant <ith that= the &ala(sian >overn,ent plans to ,a@e &ala(sia a regional
hub for higher education services. In order to beco,e the educational hub for the region=
&ala(sia needs to strive to attain regional= if not <orldreno<ned acade,ic e"cellence.
Hence= the Eualit( of all acade,ic progra,,es is e,phasised. To enable
internationali?ation of higher education= the &ala(sian public universities <ill have to
ensure that their acade,ic progra,,es are in co,pliance <ith international standards
and are bench,ar@ed against si,ilar progra,,es in pre,ier universities overseas. Bith
such practices in place= universities <ould be operating according to international
standards in their core business of providing Eualit( higher education. The establish,ent
of the National 'ccreditation Foard 5L'N6 and the Code of -ractices for ;ualit(
'ssurance as <ell as the &ala(sian ;ualification Fra,e<or@ ensure that progra,,es
offered b( the various institutions of higher learning in &ala(sia attain a certain
respectable standard.
't the sa,e ti,e= higher education in &ala(sia continues to be a @e( factor in the
construction of a balanced socioecono,ic ,ilieu in &ala(sia. 't the sa,e ti,e= there is
a need to satisf( the de,and for higher education and providing access to higher
education for all &ala(sians. In line <ith this= the govern,ent enacted the -rivate Higher
Education Institution 'ct 1::!= <hich sa< the nu,ber of private institutes of higher
learning increased ,ar@edl( in the countr(= co,ple,enting the public universities as
providers of tertiar( education. .uch a ,ove <as in line <ith the de,ocrati?ation of
education to provide ,ore educational opportunities to as ,an( &ala(sians as possible
and to achieve the vision of beco,ing the regional educational hub. The ,ove <as also
seen as an effective <a( to reduce the outflo< of #inggit overseas due to high nu,ber of
&ala(sian stud(ing abroad. Ho<ever= 'nu<ar 'li 529996 observes that establish,ent of
a nu,ber of private universities has created a ne< higher education scenario <hich is
,ore interesting= but eEuall( co,ple" and challenging for polic( ,a@ers. &ohd .alleh
&ohd Gasin 5299)6 co,,ents that active involve,ent of the private sector in higher
education is challenging because the ne< situation opens up ne< intellectual hori?ons but
cautions that the Euantitative change <ill bring along <ith it Eualitative changes=
so,eti,es <ith unintended conseEuences. Further,ore= the increase in student
population follo<ing the sudden increase of ne< colleges and universities are a source of
strain to the e"isting infrastructure facilities= teaching staff and acade,ic standard.
/ther eEuall( i,portant factors <hich have led to the need for acade,ic institutional
rethin@ing= i.e. institutional restructuring nation<ide is the rapid pace of ICT
advance,ent and the process of globalisation and liberali?ation. &ohd .alleh &ohd
Gasin 5299)6 notes that the public universities clearl( need a ne<l( defined role ta@ing
into consideration their traditional strengths= niches and overall potentialities. This can
be e"pressed either nationall( through the co,bined efforts of all universities or
individuall( at the universit( level. He adds that Hthe i,pact of technological progress
and innovations in ,an( areas ,eans that universities too have to pla( a greater role in
producing graduates <ith co,petencies in ,an( critical areas or disciplines co,parable
)
to graduates fro, leading universities fro, other parts of the <orldI. He believes that to
achieve this the universit( should plan its curriculu, develop,ent= <hich is co,petitive
at the national and global levels in line <ith the develop,ent in other universities= the
<orld over. In response to the labour ,ar@et= it is i,perative that the acade,ic
curriculu, is ad0usted <henever necessar( to ,eet ne< needs in the <or@ environ,ent
as <ell as to incorporate ne< disciplines and speciali?ations in the curriculu,. This
<ould inevitabl( allo< the graduates an increased degree of fle"ibilit(= greater creativit(
and capacit( for critical thin@ing. 'spect of Eualit( also e"tends to the products fro, the
institute of higher learning. In this respect= the nation de,ands that our graduates are
@no<ledgeable and <ellrounded students <ho are able to contribute effective to the
nation and to societ(.
-ublic universities in &ala(sia= as else<here= have also co,e under intense scrutin( of
b( the public and govern,ent. There are no< higher e"pectations and de,ands for
accountabilit( and Eualit( fro, the public universities that are allocated substantial
a,ount of public funding annuall(. For instance= the 299) operation e"penditure for the
public universities a,ounted to <ell in e"cess of #& * billion= and the develop,ent
allocation for the universities in the 1
th
&ala(sian -lan a,ounts to over #& + billion.
Thus= there is certain a,ount of pressure for universities to generate their o<n inco,e to
,eet their operational budget as <ell as to co,,ercialise their research. In 1::1= the
corporatisation of the various public universities <as initiated <ith the ,ain thrust of the
corporatisation e"ercise being focused on to<ards a ,ore effective and accountable
,anage,ent s(ste,. Ho<ever= the corporatisation of public universities did not e"tend to
financial ,atters as the universities bursars are sub0ected to the sa,e circular and
regulations of the &ala(sian treasur( and the universities e,olu,ent structure are still
under the 0urisdiction of the -ublic .ervice Co,,ission. Even on the deter,ination of
students fees= the universities are sub0ected to the Education &inistr( guidelines.
'lthough there is so,e delegation of po<ers on so,e financial ,atters= for instance on
procedures pertaining to tender= on the <hole= the public universities have not been given
total autono,( and the financial structure of the universities is a@in to ,ost govern,ent
agencies and is audited b( the 'uditor >eneral. Nevertheless= corporatisation has allo<ed
universities to set up their respective co,panies to generate inco,e for the universities
<hile holding on to the their core business of providing high Eualit( tertiar( education to
as ,an( Eualified &ala(sians as possible. The various challenges in higher education in
&ala(sia can be su,,ed up in Figure 1 5cf. Nir<an Idrus 299)6.
To ,eet the various challenges and trends in higher education= ,entioned above= the
&ala(sian govern,ent= especiall( the &inistr( of Education have e,bar@ed on
educational refor,s through legislations= organi?ational changes 5as in the establish,ent
of the Higher Education 3ivision in the &inistr( in 1::4 to oversee= coordinate and
ensure Eualit(6 and also ,ade changes to the governance structure of the universities
through the corporatisation initiative. The universities= in response= have also e,bar@ed
on and underta@en initiatives to revie<= strategise and reprioritise their ,issions and
ob0ectives. The revie< also too@ into consideration aspects of institutional restructuring
and governance= that are needed to<ards ,eeting the national challenges to higher
education in &ala(sia.
*
#igure ," Challenges to Higher Education in Malaysia

's ,entioned earlier= to effectivel( ,anage and coordinate higher education in &ala(sia
as <ell as to oversee higher educational refor,s in &ala(sia a 3epart,ent of Higher
Education in the &inistr( of Education <as established in 1::4 <ith the responsibilit(
for the planning and for,ulation of policies as <ell as the overall develop,ent of public
higher educational institutions. In the follo<ing (ear through the National Council for
Higher Education 'ct 1::!= a Council responsible for the planning and for,ulation of
policies and strategies related to the develop,ent of higher education in &ala(sia <as
established <ith the 3epart,ent of Higher Education serving as the secretariat to the
Council.
In addition= in order to ,eet the challenges outlined in the section above= the &ala(sian
govern,ent has also enacted several pieces of legislation to<ards reali?ing the strategies
in higher education. These include the follo<ing legislations= <hich provide for the
various initiatives in higher education in &ala(sia7
'@ta -endidi@an Faru 51::!6 J New Education Act (1996)
'@ta $niversiti dan %ole0 $niversiti 51::!6 J Universities and University
Colleges Act (1996)
'@ta Institut -endidi@an Tinggi .<asta 51::!6 J Private Higher Education
Institution Act (1996)
Ata !a"lis Pendidian #inggi (1996) $ National Council on Higher Education
(1996)
Governance &
Funding Changes
Organizational
Changes
Higher Education Higher Education
Quality
Accountability
Relevance
Increased Public and
Governments !"ectations
'32'NCE. IN ICT '32'NCE. IN ICT
>L/F'LI.'TI/N >L/F'LI.'TI/N
CH'N>IN>
T#EN3.
CH'N>IN>
T#EN3.
conomic
#ocial & $alue
Political
Academic
ducational
Re%orms &Acts'
4
'@ta Le,baga '@reditasi %ebangsaan 51::!6 J National Accreditation %oard
Act (1996)
'@ta Le,baga Tabung -endidi@an Tinggi Negara 51::+6 J National Higher
Education &und %oard Act (199')
In conclusion= the challenges to higher education posed b( various factors such as
advance,ent in infor,ation co,,unication technolog( and globalisation 5co,petition
and co,petitiveness6= coupled <ith changing trends in societ( and the econo,( 5@
econo,(6 have dictated that higher education in &ala(sia pa( attention to issues of
Eualit(= accountabilit(= relevance= public and govern,ent e"pectations and ,eet these
challenges head on through appropriate responses. In this respect= refor,s or ne<
initiatives in the for, of legislation= institutional restructuring and changes in governance
have been introduced. In the ne"t section of the report= <e <ill e"a,ine ho< $%& has
responded to so,e of the challenges via acade,ic K institutional restructuring.

Ministry o- Higher Education: scope and duties .//0 established
1.% I##ue# Relted to In#titutionl Re#tructuring
Institutional restructuring 1 de-ined
(peci-ic IR, In the case o- UKM internal restructuring 2-aculty restructuring3 rather
than university 4ide 2institutional restructuring3
)ogic behind the measures:
+ro4n to a large many aculty
(i$e o- senate
(i$e o- board
1.& O'(ective# of the )tud"
The present research involved collection of infor,ation fro, a variet( of sources through
docu,ent anal(sis= intervie<s= participant infor,ants and Euestionnaire surve( through
<hich the feedbac@ and effects of the restructuring are collected and anal(?ed. %e(
docu,ents such as the Pro(osal o) the A*alga*ation o) the &aculty o) +ocial +ciences ,
Hu*anities- &aculty o) .anguage +tudies and the &aculty o) /evelo(*ental +ciences and
the esta0lish*ent o) a new &aculty o) +ocial +ciences and Hu*anities presented to the
.enate= and various co,,ittee papers and ,inutes of the .ocial .ciences Bor@ing
Co,,ittees and the .enate Co,,ittee on the .ocial .ciences <ere also studied to
provide ans<ers to so,e of the @e( Euestions as@ed in the research. 'll these infor,ation
and docu,ents provided the data for the research.
!
.pecificall(= the ob0ectives of the stud( are as follo<s7
a. To understand the e"ternal influences for institutional
restructuring.
b. To identif( ,a0or areas of institutional restructuring.
c. To anal(se the process of i,ple,entation of institutional
restructuring.
d. To anal(se the effect of institutional restructuring on both the ,ission and
functioning of the universit(.
The ob0ectives and the ,ethodolog( of investigation are su,,arised in Table 2. The ne"t
section <ill describe in detail the instru,ents and other co,ponents of the ,ethodolog(.
'able ." %b5ectives and methodology o- the study
%b5ective Methodology
To understand the e"ternal influences
for institutional restructuring
3ocu,ent anal(sis= intervie<s= participant
infor,ants
To identif( ,a0or areas of institutional
restructuring
;uestionnaire 5$NE.C/ 299)6
To anal(se the process of
i,ple,entation of institutional
restructuring
3ocu,ent anal(sis= Intervie<s= -articipant
Infor,ants= ;uestionnaire 5$NE.C/
299)6
To anal(se the effect of institutional
restructuring on both the ,ission and
functioning of the universit(
5;uestionnaire $NE.C/ 299)6=
Intervie<s= -articipant Infor,ants
1.* !ethodolog"
A 6escription o- (elected Components o- the Methodology
#he 1uestionnaire +urvey2
The $NE.C/ 299) ;uestionnaires <ere used as the ,ain data collection tool in the
present stud(. The surve( for,ed the basis of stud(ing the effects and benefits of
restructuring at the institutional level. The Euestions <ere designed to elicit infor,ation
about the ,a0or changes and benefits of the restructuring e"ercise particularl( in the area
of universit( autono,(= decision ,a@ing structure= acade,ic progra,,es= staff
,anage,ent and evaluation= financial ,anage,ent and corporatisation= ad,ission and
student ,anage,ent as <ell as ad,inistrative procedures. In addition= specific issues
relating to the restructuring <hich affected particular section of the universit( <as also
surve(ed. For instance= ad,inistrators <ere as@ed in detail regarding the level of
autono,( and the decision ,a@ing processL acade,ic staff <ere as@ed to co,,ent on
the acade,ic progra,,esL and students on various aspects of student <elfare and
,anage,ent.
+
In total= * different sets of Euestionnaires <ere ad,inistered to the follo<ing categories7
'd,inistrators= 'cade,ic .taff= .upport .taff= and .tudents. The response rate and the
nu,ber of Euestionaire ad,inistered are sho<n in Table ).
'able 7: 8uestionnaire Response Rate
Category &o" o- 9uestionnaire &o" Returned Response rate
'd,inistrators : ! !!.+M
'cade,ic .taff 49 22 **.9M
.upport .taff )9 2) +!.+M
.tudents 49 )* !*.9M
The four sets of Euestionnaires shared certain si,ilar Euestions. For instance= ;uestions 1
J ! in all four sets of Euestionnaire pertain to personal infor,ation of the respondents.
The Euestionnaire proper begins <ith ;uestion +. ;uestion + <as intended to ascertain
<hat the respondents felt <ere ,a0or changes brought about b( restructuring.
#espondents <ere also as@ed to specif( the changes these areas. 'd,inistrators <ere
as@ed on the level of autono,( <ith respects to areas of restructuring and also difficulties
in the i,ple,entation of the restructuring= acade,icians <ere as@ed to indicate their
agree,ent on various aspects of the acade,ic restructuring but in particular <ith respects
to the acade,ic progra,,esL support staff <ere surve(ed as to the effects of
restructuring. 'll groups <ere surve(ed <ith respect to <hat the( perceived to be the
benefits of restructuring. In addition all the Euestionnaire sought an overall co,,ents on
the restructuring fro, the respondents. The for,at of the Euestionnaire are su,,arised
in Table *.
'able 0: #ormat o- the 8uestionnaire
Administrators Academic (ta-- (upport (ta-- (tudents
;1 J !7 -ersonal
Infor,ation
; 1 J !7 -ersonal
Infor,ation
; 1 J !7 -ersonal
Infor,ation
; 1 J !7 -ersonal
Infor,ation
;+7 'reas of ,a0or
changes
;+7 'reas of ,a0or
changes
;+7 'reas of ,a0or
changes
;+7 'reas of ,a0or
changes
;1 J 117 Level of
autono,(
;1 J 1:7 Curriculu, K
acade,ic progra,,es
;1 J 21 Effects of
restructuring
;1 J 127 /pinions on
aspects of restructuring
;1: J 2+7 &ain
changes in the areas
identified
;29 J 2+7 &ain
changes in the areas
identified

;1) J 1!7 &ain

changes in the areas
identified
;217 3ifficulties in the
process of
i,ple,entation

;2: J *27 -erceived
benefits
;21 J *97 -erceived
benefits
;22 J )47 -erceived
benefits
;1+ J 2+7 -erceived
benefits
/verall co,,ents /verall co,,ents /verall co,,ents /verall co,,ents
#he 3ey docu*ents2
%e( docu,ents e"a,ined for the purpose of the stud( included the follo<ing7
a. The -roposal for the ',alga,ation of the .ocial .cience and
Hu,anities (3ertas 3er"a Cadangan Pengga0ungan &aulti +ains 3e*asyaraatan
dan 3e*anusiaan- &aulti Penga"ian %ahasa dan &aulti +ains Pe*0angunan serta
(enu0uhan &aulti +ains +osial dan 3e*anusiaan)2 The Pro(osal describes the current
1
challenges that reEuires the restructuringL the universal scenario on restructuring in the
arts 5social sciences and hu,anities6L the principles of restructuringL the chronological
events leading up to the restructuringL the rationale for the for,ation the ne< facult(L
the vision and ,ission state,ent of the ne< facult(L the ob0ectives and the strategies
for the ne< facult(L the scope of the si" ne< schools in the facult(L the structure of the
acade,ic progra,,es in the ne< facult(L and the structure of governance.
b. &aculty Hand0oos 4 contains the descriptions of progra,,es provided in old
and ne< faculties and presented the infor,ation sources and anal(sis of the
progra,,es offered.
c. Ne< progra,,es proposals.
d. &inutes of the .enate Co,,ittee on the #estructuring of the .ocial .ciences
and &inutes of various Bor@ing Co,,ittees
1.+ Pln of the report
The report is divided into si" chapters. This introductor( chapter has set the larger
conte"t of the stud( J na,el( the develop,ent of HE in &ala(sia and the pressures for
refor,s of institutions og higher learning in the countr(. Chapter 2 <ill e"a,ine the
particular institutional conte"t of the case stud(. The chapter <ill provide a brief histor(
of $niversiti %ebangsaan &ala(sia= the restructuring ,easures adopted b( $%& as <ell
as the rationale for setting on the refor,s. E"pected changes or the outco,es hoped for
<ill also be briefl( discussed. Chapter ) la(s out a detailed account of the i,ple,entation
of the restrucuturing at $%&. In particular= the chapter <ill e"a,ine C
Chapter * discusses so,e of the constraints encountered during the facult( restructuring.
',ong other things the various proble,s associated <ith the faculties <ill be e"a,ined.
Chapter 4 provides a description and anal(sis of the i,pact on the restructuring. For
reasons that the restructuring is a rather recent events and is ongoing in so,e respects=
the anal(sis is tentative. Chapter ! concludes and su,,arises the findings of this stud(
and ,a@e so,e suggestions and reco,,endation <ith respect to institutional
restructuring.
:
CHAPTER $
THE IN)TITUTIONA, CONTE-T
$.1 Introduction to the Univer#it"
$niversiti %ebangsaan &ala(sia 5$%&6 5literall(= National $niversit( of &ala(sia6 is a
relativel( (oung institution having onl( celebrated its )9
th
(ear anniversar( at the turn of the
,illenniu,. Ho<ever= the aspiration and the appeal for the establish,ent of a national universit(
began as earl( as the 1:29s during colonial da(s. Even then= the &ala( intellectuals and political
elites <ere urging the Fritish Colonial 'd,inistration to provide higher education for the &ala(s.
The establish,ent of such an institution <as seen as a necessit( to *endaulatan 5elevate and
adulate6 the &ala( language in the nation and also to enhance the econo,ic value of the &ala(
language.
Bith independence in 1:41= &ala( beca,e the national and official language of the federation
and the need to establish a national universit( beca,e ,ore urgent. The resolutions of the
Language & Literature .e,inar held at the Language Teachers Training College in 1:!) and the
National Language .e,inar at $niversit( of &ala(a in 1:!! called for the establish,ent of a
national universit(. In 1:!1= several &ala( intellectuals= a,ong the, Nainal 'bidin Bahid= '.
Fa@ar Ha,id= Tun@u .ha,sul Fahrin= Nain '. &a0id= &ohd. >ha?ali '. #ah,an and .. Husin
'li conceptualised a national universit( <ithin the realities and conte"t of &ala(sian political
histor(. .uch a universit( <as vie<ed as both an educational and a political necessit(. -oliticall(=
a national universit( <as an i,perative as such a universit( represented the tertiar( phase in the
national education s(ste, and is integral to the s(ste, as a <hole. In ter,s of the education
continuu,= a national universit( is a necessit( to cater to the large nu,ber of students in
secondar( education= especiall( those in the &ala( ,ediu,= <hose nu,bers have increased
rapidl( since the inception of the national education s(ste,. 2arious <riters8 guilds= (outh
associations= cultural association= students8 bodies and educators ali@e supported this concept of a
national universit(= <hich e,bodied the desire and consciousness of the &ala(s.
ConseEuentl(= a $%& .teering Co,,ittee <as established and a report prepared in 1:!: that
eventuall( led to the establish,ent of $%& on the 11
th
&a( 1:+9 through an act of -arlia,ent.
Initiall(= $%& <as located in a te,porar( ca,pus in Le,bah -antai= %uala Lu,pur and
subseEuentl( in 1:++ ,oved to the current ca,pus in Fangi. The founding of the universit(
represents the realisation of a struggle of the &ala( intellectuals and the fulfill,ent of the
aspiration of all &ala(sians.
Bith an initial inta@e of 1:2 students= the ne<l( established universit( consisted of three pioneer
faculties J the Facult( of 'rts= the Facult( of .cience and the Facult( of Isla,ic .tudies. Three
(ears later in 1:+)= the Facult( of &edicine and the Institute of &ala( Language= Literature and
Culture <ere established in response to the sensitivit( and the de,and of &ala(sian societ(.
.ubseEuentl(= in 1:+*= in line <ith the gro<th and e"pansion of @no<ledge and acade,ic
progra,,es= the 'rts Facult( <as rena,ed the .ocial .cience and Hu,anities to ta@e into
account the t<o ,a0or fields in the 'rts and to cater to increasing nu,ber of students. 't the
sa,e ti,e= the 3epart,ent of Econo,ics in the 'rts Facult( beca,e the anchor for a ne<
Facult( of Econo,ics and &anage,ent 5<hich later in 1:+: e"panded into t<o separate
19
specialised faculties J the Facult( of Econo,ics and the Facult( of Fusiness &anage,ent6. In
that sa,e (ear= the .abah branch ca,pus of $%& <as officiall( established to enhance the
opportunities for students in .abah and .ara<a@ to receive higher education and also to enhance
national integration through the educational process. Five (ears later= in 1:+:= the Facult( of
.cience and Natural #esource <as established at the .abah Ca,pus of $%& <ith uniEue
acade,ic progra,,es of its o<n.
In the 19s= the continuous rapid e"pansion of both undergraduate and graduate progra,,es also
<itnessed an increase in student nu,bers that in turn led to the establish,ent of several ne<
faculties. These included the partition of the Facult( of .cience into three separate entities in
1:12 the Facult( of -h(sical & 'pplied .ciencesL the Facult( of Life .ciencesL and the Centre
for ;uantitative .tudies 5<hich in 1::1 <as rena,ed the Facult( of &athe,atics & Co,puter
.cience6. In 1:1)= a Centre for >raduate .tudies and a Centre for >eneral .tudies <as
established follo<ed b( the Engineering Facult(= the La< Facult( and the Language Centre in
1:1* and the Facult( of Education in 1:1!. Foth the Language Centre and the Facult( of
Education <ere off shoots fro, the Facult( of .ocial .ciences and Hu,anities. The Language
Centre <as subseEuentl( rena,ed the Facult( of Language .tudies in 1::!.
In the :9s= further gro<th and specialisation= national and ,ar@et de,and as <ell as the
e"pansion of technolog( especiall( in Infor,ation Technolog( sa< the for,ation of the Facult(
of 'llied Health .ciences in 1::1= and the birth of t<o separate faculties fro, the Facult( of
&athe,atics and Co,puter .ciences in 1::* na,el( the Facult( of &athe,atical .ciences and
the Facult( of Technolog( and Infor,ation .cience.
'part fro, develop,ent in the acade,ic faculties= the :9s also sa< the e,ergence of several
research centres. These centres of e"cellence e,bodied the ,aturing and the consolidation of
research niches and research strengths at $%&. Firstl(= the Institute of &ala( Language=
Literature and Culture 5IF%%&6= the first research centre for &ala( studies of its @ind in
&ala(sia= established as earl( as 1:+2 <as rena,ed the Institute of &ala( Borld and Civili?ation
5'T&'6 in 1::) to better reflect the scope of research underta@en at the institute. In 1::4= the
Institute of &ala(sia and International .tudies 5I%&'.6 <as established as a centre of e"cellence
for research and postgraduate teaching in the fields of social sciences and hu,anities. ' (ear
later= in /ctober 1::*= the Institute for Environ,ent and 3evelop,ent 5LE.T'#I3 <as
established as a ,ultidisciplinar( research centre <ith a focus on the environ,ent and
sustainable develop,ent follo<ing on fro, the resolutions of the $nited Nations Borld .u,,it
in #io de Aaneiro in 1::2. In Aanuar( 299)= the Institute of &icroengineering and
Nanoelectronics 5I&EN6 <as officiall( established <ith research concentration in si" ,a0or
research the,es7 &E&.= high freEuenc( technolog( for teleco,,unication 5collaboration <ith
T&#&36= 2L.I s(ste,= photonics= organics electronics and nanoelectronics. In the sa,e (ear=
t<o other research institutes= na,el( the &edical &olecular Fiolog( Institute 5$&FI6 and
Institute for .pace #esearch 5'ng@asa6 <ere established in line <ith the gro<ing stature of $%&
as a research universit(.
$p to 2991= $%& has contributed +4=14) graduates 5!:=+:: at the undergraduate level= 4=991
&asters and )!! -h3s6 an average of 2499 graduates per (ear to the national educated H<or@
forceI. In three decades of its e"istence= $%& has also e,erged fro, being a HnationalI
universit( to one <here the students fro, all over the <orld co,e to see@ @no<ledge. 'part fro,
that= $%& has also contributed i,,ensel( to the advance,ent and gro<th in the ,edical
sciences= engineering= science and technolog(L agricultureL businessL arts and social sciences. It is
thus not surprising that $%& has been ear,ar@ed b( the &ala(sian &inistr( of Education as a
pre,ier public research universit( in the countr(. In line <ith the rapid e"pansion of @no<ledge
11
and ever increasing specialisation= $%& has gro<n fro, a universit( <ith three faculties to
seventeen faculties before the restructuring e"ercise at $%& began in earnest. 'cade,ic staff
nu,bers have also increased ,an( folds seen the earl( da(s. Currentl(= the universit( e,plo(s
over 1=+99 fullti,e acade,ic staff= consisting of 149 -rofessors= )*+ 'ssociate -rofessors= :14
lecturers= 19 teachers and 1!1 tutors.
Oinsert table of nu,ber of staff7
Ostudent enrol,ent7 graduate K post graduateP
Ofaculties and centresP
$.$ Re#tructuring !e#ure# Adopted '" U.!
's earl( as 1::!= $%& <as e"a,ining and debating the changing trends in higher education and
the critical de,ands on acade,ia especiall( ,atters related to relevance and Eualit( of acade,ic
progra,,es= ne< inclinations in acade,ic progra,,es= as <ell as issues related to governance
and funding.
There <as also realisation that the e"pansion and gro<th of $%& and also the return of branch
ca,pus8s faculties to the ,ain ca,pus= has inevitabl( led to overlaps in courses and resources.
These <ere <asteful= to sa( the least= in vie< of de,and for ,ore accountabilit( in public
institutions of higher learning. 't the sa,e ti,e the Hbranching outI and for,ation of nu,erous
faculties has led to a tendenc( to<ards narro< specialisation in acade,ic progra,,es against the
trend of ,ultidisciplinaris, and liberal education.
'nother event that bears on the restructuring e"ercise is the issue of corporatisation. The
governance of $%& <as effectivel( HcorporatisedI on &arch 14
th
. 1::1. In line <ith the
corporatisation= the $niversit( Council <as replaced b( a $niversit( Foard of 3irectors. The
2ice Chancellor <as no longer 0ust the 'cade,ic Head of the universit( but also its Chief
E"ecutive /fficer. The corporatised status of the universit( allo<ed it to for, business entities
and in response= the $%& Holdings .dn. Fhd. <as for,ed on &arch 1
th
2991 under the
Co,panies 'ct 51:!46. In essence= <ith changes in the governance of the public universities
through the corporatisation of the ,anage,ent= public institutions of higher learning not onl(
have to beco,e ,ore accountable in the fashion of good corporate governance= ,ore
co,petitive= and ,ore responsive to sta@e holders8 de,ands but the( also need to activel(
generate inco,e to<ards ,eeting their operating costs in order that the ratio of govern,ent
funding can be reduced accordingl(.
's part of the response to the above ,atters= $%& e,bar@ed on several HrestructuringI
e"ercises. ',ong these are the restructuring of the science faculties= <hich sa< the
a,alga,ation of four science faculties and the for,ation of the Facult( of .cience and
Technolog( on Aul( 1:
th
1:::. This <as follo<ed b( the for,ation of the ne< Facult( of .ocial
.ciences & Hu,anities 5F..%6 on Nove,ber 14
th
. 2991 through the a,alga,ation of the Facult(
of Language .tudies= the Facult( of 3evelop,ental .ciences and the Facult( of .ocial .ciences
and Hu,anities 5F.%%6. OThe present case stud( <ill focus on this facult(P. Foth these
restructuring effectivel( abolished the traditional acade,ic depart,ents <ith the for,ation of
schools or centre of studies. In the for,er= five schools na,el( the .chool of Fioscience &
Fiotechnolog(= the .chool of 'pplied -h(sics= the .chool of Che,ical .ciences and Food
Technolog(= the .chool of &athe,atical .ciences and the .chool of Environ,ental .cience and
Natural #esources. In the latter= si" schools <ere for,ed na,el( the .chool of Language .tudies
12
and Linguistics= the .chool of &ala( Language= Literature and Culture= the .chool of &edia and
Co,,unication .tudies= the .chool of .ocial= 3evelop,ent and Environ,ent .tudies= the .chool
of -s(cholog( and Hu,an 3evelop,ent= and the .chool of Histor(= -olitics and .trategic
.tudies. Currentl(= the Facult( of Econo,ics and the Facult( of Fusiness &anage,ent are in the
process of being ,erged into a single Facult( of Econo,ics and Fusiness. /ther faculties have
also been advised to restructure internall( to ,eet the acade,ic challenges of the ne<
,illenniu,. It ,ust also be noted that apart fro, the acade,ic restructuring= the #egistrar office
and the Fursar office have also been internall( restructured.
2.ii rationale
2.) The e"pected changes brought about b( restructuring on the ,anage,ent of the universit(.
1)
CHAPTER %
I!P,E!ENTATION O/ THE RE)TRUCTURIN0 IN U.!
OppaP
In line <ith the challenges of the ne< ,illenniu,= on 1
th
. Aune 1::!= the $niversit( Council
proposed that a revie< of the acade,ic faculties and depart,ent in $%& <hich at that point
consisted of 1+ Faculties K Centres and ) Institutes offering 11) progra,,es be conducted. The
$niversit( &anage,ent &eeting on 1
st
'pril 1::+ studied the 2ice Chancellor8s Bor@ing -aper
on the ,atter and agreed to for, a #estructuring Co,,ittee to e"a,ine and ,a@e
reco,,endations for a subseEuent universit( retreat.
/n )
rd
'pril 1::+= the !ain Co**ittee on the 5estructuring o) Acade*ic &aculties and
/e(art*ents in U3! ,et and established subco,,ittees to suggest different options and ,odel
for restructuring and the changes and actions that needed to be ta@en universit( <ide. The
deliberations and suggestions of these subco,,ittees <ere discussed at a universit( retreat 1
st

)
rd
'ugust 1::+. The ,ain issues discussed at the retreat included the follo<ing ,atters7
a. .tatus of current progra,,es and directions for ne< progra,,esL
b. .trategic directions in @no<ledge and ,anage,entL
c. -roposal for restructuring at the $niversit( levelL
d. The foundations and suggestions for restructuring at the facult( and
depart,ental levelL
e. Centres of E"cellenceL
f. The develop,ent and ,anage,ent of hu,an resourcesL
g. 'ctivit(based costingL
h. 3evelop,ent and application of Infor,ation technolog(L and
i. Lessons to be learnt for, e"periences of restructuring at other universities
<orld<ide.
The deliberations at the #etreat affir,ed the e"istence of three @no<ledge groups 5ru*(un il*u6
in $%&= na,el(7
a. The Health .ciences group J enco,passing the Facult( of &edicine= 'llied
Health .ciences and 3entistr(L
b. The .cience & Technolog( group J enco,passing the Facult( of Life .ciences=
-h(sical and 'pplied .ciences= &athe,atical .ciences= .cience and Natural
#esources= Technolog( and Infor,ation .cience and Engineering
c. .ocial 3evelop,ent .ciences group J enco,passing the Facult( of Isla,
.tudies= La<= .ocial .ciences and Hu,anities= Language .tudies= Education=
Fusiness &anage,ent and Econo,(.
The $niversit( &anage,ent &eeting on the +
th
/ctober 1::+ agreed that the * science faculties
pioneer the acade,ic restructuring efforts to be follo<ed b( the social sciences. &ean<hile= the
$niversit( Council on 1)
th
. 3ece,ber 1::+ endorsed the restructuring proposal arrived at during
the universit( retreat. /n 11
th
Aul( 1::1= the ne<l( for,ed Foard of 3irectors endorsed the
proposal for the restructuring and ,erger of four .cience faculties= na,el( the Facult( of Life
.ciences= the Facult( of -h(sical and 'pplied .ciences= the Facult( of &athe,atical .ciences=
and the Facult( of .cience and Natural #esources. The acade,ic restructuring began in earnest
<hen the $%& .enate in its 2+:
th
,eeting on the 11
th
Nove,ber 1::1 established the .enate
1*
Co,,ittee on the .ciences 5Penga"ian 5u*(un +ains6 to detail the restructuring of @no<ledge
and acade,ic progra,,es as <ell as the consolidation of the s(ste, of governance and resources
in the ne< facult(. In that sa,e (ear a 3ivision of #estructuring <as established at the Centre for
'cade,ic 'dvance,ent. The division <as to serve as the secretariat and coordinator for
acade,ic restructuring universit( <ide.
'fter a series of ,eetings= retreats and various consultation <ith a <ide section of the faculties
concerned spanning over a t<o (ear period= the final proposal presented to the .enate for the
restructuring and a,alga,ation of the four science faculties contained principles and rationale of
restructuring= the vision and ,ission state,ent= the strategies= the proposed ne< schools and
progra,,es= the acade,ic structure= the governance= and the utili?ation of resources. The .enate
approved the setting up of the ne< Facult( of .cience and Technolog( on Aul( 1:
th
. 1::: and the
ne< facult( <as officiall( launched on Aul( 21
th
. 1::: b( the &inister of Hu,an #esource and
G.F. 3atu@ 3r. Fong Chan /n.
Bhile the restructuring .cience <as nearing co,pletion= discussion on the restructuring of the
.ocial .ciences and Hu,anities began in earnest on the )9
th
Nove,ber 1::1 <hen the 2ice
Chancellor chaired the first ,eeting on the restructuring and evaluation of progra,,es in the
.ocial .ciences. The sa,e process of retreats= ,eetings and discussion <ere initiated and to draft
a proposal for the consideration of the $%& .enate. The proposal <as presented to .enate on 11
3ece,ber 2999 <hence a .enate Co,,ittee on the #estructuring of the .ocial .ciences to
deliberate on the proposal <as established 5$%& .enate +K29996. &ean<hile several Bor@ing
Co,,ittees of the .ocial .cience Facult( <ere initiated and the co,,ittees deliberated and
re<or@ed the final proposal to .enate. /n the 14
th
Nove,ber 2991= the ne< restructured .ocial
.cience and Hu,anities Facult( <ith si" schools <as officiall( launched ,erging three faculties=
na,el( the .ocial .cience and Hu,anities= Language .tudies and 3evelop,ental .cience.
Ho<ever= ne< progra,,es in the facult( did not begin until the follo<ing session in 2991 5due
to the need to get the progra,,es approved b( the &inistr( of Education6. /n the <hole= the
acade,ic restructuring in the .ocial .ciences 5as <ith the .ciences6 at $%& <as an involved and
elaborate one spanning over a period of al,ost three (ears. The consultative process and
feedbac@ involved elaborate consultation and feedbac@ fro, facult( ,e,bers through various
,eetings= <or@ing co,,ittees and retreats.
7" 'he principles and rationale
The <or@ing paper for the H,ergerI 5(engga0ungan6 of the faculties identified four ,ain
challenges that necessitated the restructuring as7
#he tendency to s(eciali6e7
The philosophical argu,ent in this is traced to the elitis, and the speciali?ation= <hich
led to a decrease in co,prehensive @no<ledge. The tendenc( to speciali?e also brought
about the parceling of @no<ledge not onl( in the sciences and social sciences but also in
the entire @no<ledge corpus. The restructuring <as argued to be the point fro, <hich
@no<ledge is consolidated in its generation= develop,ent= disse,ination and practice.
#he 8uality o) the graduates (roduced7
It <as felt that a graduate fro, the current s(ste, <as too speciali?ed and onl( had the
opportunit( to be trained in a confined area of speciali?ation due to the prevailing facult(
structure and the division of areas of @no<ledge in depart,ental co,ponents. The
constraint of ti,e and the need to focus <ere also contributing factors to the
14
speciali?ation s(ndro,e= apart fro, the restrictive cross facult( structures. 's a result=
students can onl( be e"posed to bits and pieces of the @no<ledge as addendu, to his area
of speciali?ation. The parceling up of @no<ledge in the sciences and social sciences <as
also a result of e,phasis being placed on speciali?ation 5<hether rightl( or <rongl(6. The
professed ,ain agenda of the restructuring is the creation of an undergraduate acade,ic
structure that reflects the consolidation of @no<ledge= the introduction of ,ulti
disciplinar( progra,,es and the inculcation of students8 <holeso,e acade,ic potential
apart fro, in their area of speciali?ation so that the( are ,ore e,plo(able and relevant to
current ,ar@et de,ands.
#he ad*inistrative structure7
The e"isting structure that bureaucrati?es @no<ledge also led to the bureaucrati?ation of
@no<ledge disse,ination. The result is that there is little cross fertili?ation of discipline=
infor,ation= hu,an resources and students a,ongst the e"isting faculties and to a lesser
e"tent a,ongst depart,ents in the sa,e facult(. It is hoped that a restructured
ad,inistration and governance <ill reduce the bureaucrac( in order that a ,ore open and
collegial spirit <ill e"ist <ithin the larger ru*(un il*u 5@no<ledge group6.
#he o(ti*i6ation o) resources7
These included infrastructural and ph(sical resources as <ell as hu,an resources. The
present structures prohibited the ,ove,ent of support staff= technical staff and also
acade,ic staff. It <as felt that the restructuring e"ercise <ould overco,e the constraint
and lead to a ,ore supportive sharing of personnel= 0oint use of resources and ulti,atel(
i,prove cost efficienc( in the ne< ,erged Qsuper8 facult(.
The concerns above beca,e the rationale for the restructuring of the acade,ic restructuring at
$%&. In line <ith the rationale= the proposal presented to the .enate included guiding principles
in four ,a0or areas to address the concerns above.
The restructuring and redefinition of @no<ledge
o #edirection of the strategic directions of the acade,ic to e"cel in the consolidation of
@no<ledge in their o<n ,ould.
o Consolidation of acade,ic e"pertise.
o .trengthening of s(ste, and the @no<ledge generation structure.
The endeavor to produce Eualit( students
o Creation of ,ultidisciplinar( progra,,es to fulfill the professional needs and the
de,ands of societ( 5nation6.
o Increase in the use of infor,ation co,,unication technolog( in teaching and
research.
o Creation of acade,ic progra,,es <hich are responsive to the latest challenges in the
field of social science and hu,anities.
The restructuring of the ad,inistrative s(ste,
o 3ecentrali?ation of the decision ,a@ing process to the ,ost suitable level in order for
the Euic@est 5best6 feedbac@.
o .trengthening of the strategic net<or@ing and the i,ple,entation of progra, for the
co,,on interest.
o Hu,an resource ,anage,ent based in the enrich,ent of the <or@ environ,ent and
the inculcating of collegial culture.
1!
o The creation of procedure and practices that place e,phasis on the free flo< of
infor,ation= staff a,ongst the centres of @no<ledge.
The restructuring of resources7
o /pti,u,= efficient and effective usage of resources to achieve the teaching= research
and social service ob0ectives.
o Encourage,ent of value added activities in ter,s of their Eualit(= cost and services.
o Fudgeting based on planning and the creation of a s(ste, of responsibilit( at all
levels ta@ing into account the various cost centres and profit centres.
It is <ithin this conte"t that the report on the present research into the effects of the restructuring
e"ercise is conducted b( focusing on a case stud( of the Facult( of .ocial .ciences and
Hu,anities.
1+
CHAPTER &
CON)TRAINT) IN I!P,E!ENTATION O/
RE)TRUCTURIN0 !EA)URE)
*.1 legal and ad,inistrative constraints
*.2 financial constraints
*.) resistance fro, the universit( co,,unit( J teachers= ad,instrative e,plo(ees=
students etc
*.* ho< did the universit( ad,inistration overco,e these difficulties
*.4 I,pact of the restructuring on universit( functioning
11
CHAPTER *
I!PACT O/ RE)TRUCTURIN0
I:" #I&6I&+( A&6 6I(CU((I%&
," 6ata summary
The discussion in this section is organised into different the,es according to the four groups
surve(ed. The data can be su,,ari?ed under these the,es7
a. 'reas <here ,a0or changes have been introduced as part of the restructuring process.
b. /pinions on the benefits of restructuring.
c. -articular aspects of restructuring= na,el(
i. level of autono,(L
ii. acade,ic aspects of restructuringL
iii. effects 5cf. benefits6 of restructuringL
iv. difficulties in the i,ple,entation 5ad,inistrators6.
a" Areas 4here ma5or changes have been introduced as part o- the restructuring process
Ad*inistrators
The vast ,a0orit( 51).) per cent6 indicated that there <ere ,a0or changes to the acade,ic
progra,s. 49 per cent felt that there <ere ,a0or changes to the ad,inistrative procedures. 'bout
a third of the ad,inistrators felt that there <ere ,a0or changes to the decision,a@ing structures.
/nl( 1!.+ percent felt that there <ere ,a0or changes to staff ,anage,ent and evaluationL
financial ,anage,entL ad,ission and student ,anage,ent. None of the ad,inistrators felt that
there <ere ,a0or changes to the universit( autono,(. /nl( one ad,inistrator felt that there <as a
,a0or change in the area of ad,inistrative ,anage,ent and accountabilit( that ca,e along <ith
the restructuring.
.o,e of the co,,ents under this Euestion include the respondent being Quncertain as to <hat
Eualifies to be considered H,a0or changesI8. .o,e criticis, of the restructuring e"ercise <as also
,entioned in that there <as lac@ of an organi?ation fra,e<or@ for the restructuring <hich <as
essentiall( onl( HconceptsI and philosoph(I but no Hfra,e<or@. .taffs <ere left to integrate the
concepts and philosoph( in order to co,e up <ith a fra,e<or@ for the organi?ational
restructuring. .o,e also co,,ented that the restructuring <as effectivel( adding on to e"isting
structures= <ith an added la(er or hierarch( in the facult( ,anage,ent structure. .o,e also
co,,ented that the tangible results of the restructuring are structural changes and establish,ent
of so,e ne< progra,s.
Acade*ics
's <ith the ad,inistrators= the ,a0orit( of acade,ic staff 511.1M6 felt that there <ere ,a0or
changes to the acade,ic progra,s. This felt to be the ,a0or area of change in the restructuring.
'cade,ic staff also felt ,a0or changes in the decision ,a@ing structures 5!1.2 per cent6. &ore
than half felt that the staff ,anage,ent and evaluation 54*.! per cent6 and the ad,inistrative
procedures 54*.4 per cent6 have also undergone ,a0or changes. In contrast to the ad,inistrators= a
s,all proportion of acade,ic staff felt that the restructuring has given the universit( ,ore
autono,( 51).! per cent6 and changed student ad,ission and student ,anage,ent 511.1 per
cent6.
1:
'cade,ic staff also co,,ented that there is ,ore burden and pressure on the staff= and that the
change in the ,orale of acade,ic staff has declined. .o,e felt that changes to the acade,ic
progra,,es have not been thorough enough and that there should have been ,ore
,ultidisciplinar( progra,,es. The( also la,ented that so,e colleagues do not see, to <ant to
understand the concept <hile others are 0ust not interested. The( also co,,ented that facult(
,eeting has beco,e ineffective foru,s because of the large nu,ber of ,e,bers.
Bith respect to the process of decision,a@ing= the acade,icians also felt that the restructured
facult( is ,ore bureaucratic because the line of reporting for acade,ic staff and their evaluation
<ill ta@e longer due to the additional la(er of hierarch(. The( also co,,ented that the
restructuring of the ad,inistration 5acade,ic and hu,an resource6 has happened <ithout there
being a opti,i?ation of resources in order to attain better efficienc( in the e"isting and ne<
progra,s. .o,e observed that the restructuring has in realit( elevated so,e depart,ents <hile
HstranglingI others in the previous .ocial .cience Facult( <hile the Language .tudies Facult(
has beco,e a school and another facult( has vanished into a portion of a school. Ho<ever= so,e
acade,ic staff observed that the Hne< facult(I has reall( ta@en off as the ne< progra,,es <ill
not be offered until the 299)K299* session and that the ne< facult( <as in a hiatus.
+u((ort +ta))2
The support staff felt that ,a0or changes have been ,ade in the area of acade,ic progra,s 54!.4
per cent6 and also <ith respect to ad,inistrative procedures 542.4 per cent6. In the areas of
ad,ission and student ,anage,ent as <ell as staff ,anage,ent and evaluation= ):.1 percent of
the support staff surve(ed felt that there <ere ,a0or changes in these t<o areas. 2!.1 per cent of
support staff also felt that there <ere ,a0or changes in the financial ,anage,ent. The areas that
<as felt b( support staff to be least affected b( the restructuring <as in the area of universit(
autono,(.
.upport staff voiced concern over the fact that <ith an enlarged facult(= there need to be
professionalis, in the ,anage,ent and better transparenc( in staff evaluation. /thers said that
the( are still confused as to their 0ob specification because in so,e respect their 0ob specification
in the schools have been enlarged co,pared to <hen the( <ere in depart,ents.
+tudents2
The students too felt that ,a0or changes have been ,ade in the area of acade,ic progra,s 512.*
per cent6. In the areas of ad,ission and student ,anage,ent= students too reported that there
<ere ,a0or changes 5!+.! per cent6. This pattern of response is slightl( different fro,
ad,inistrators= acade,ic and support staff as the three groups felt that ad,ission and student
,anage,ent have been ,a0or areas of restructuring. In so,e respect this is true as ad,ission
procedures and ad,inistration <hich are under the purvei< of the acade,ic registrar <as little
affected b( the acade,ic restructuring at the facult(. The areas that <as felt b( students to be
least affected b( the restructuring <as also in the area of universit( autono,(. ' su,,ar( of the
,a0or changes according to the groups surve(ed is presented in Table 4.
'able ;: Areas o- ma5or changes according to groups surveyed
Areas o- ma5or changes Administrators Academics (upport
(ta--
(tudents
$niversit( autono,( 1).! M 1+.* M 1+.! M
3ecision ,a@ing structures )).) M !1.2 M )*.1 M 29.! M
'cade,ic progra,,es 1).) M 11.1 M 4!.4 M 12.* M
.taff ,anage,ent and 1!.+ M 4*.4 M ):.1 M 2).4 M
29
evaluation
Financial ,anage,ent and
corporatisation
1!.+ M )!.* M 2!.1 M )4.) M
'd,ission and student
,anage,ent
1!.+ M 11.2 M ):.1 M !+.! M
'd,inistrative procedures 49.9 M 4*.4 M 42.2 M )1.2 M
b. Opinions on the benefits of restructuring
Three groups <ere surve(ed as to the benefits of restructuring J ad,inistrators= acade,ic staff
and support staff. The response of the three groups is presented in Table ! 1 respectivel(.
The perception of the benefits of restructuring <as ,ost positive a,ong support staff <ho in
general perceived ,oderate benefits in all aspects of restructuring surve(ed. In contrast= acade,ic
staffs <ere eEuall( divided bet<een those <ho perceived ,oderate benefits and no benefits in the
e"ercise. The ad,inistrators on the other hand perceived ,oderate benefit in the autono,(
granted to depart,ents K schools= acade,ic progra,,es and staff recruit,ent as a result of the
restructuring. Half the ad,inistrators surve(ed <ere of the opinion that the restructuring has
brought about no benefits to the autono,( of acade,ic staff or to the ad,ission procedures. The(
also pointed out that the issue of universit( autono,( is not under the purvie< of the
restructuring e"ercise.
'able <" Administrators= opinion on the bene-its o- restructuring
Aspects o- Restructuring No benefit &oderate
Fenefit
.ignificant
Fenefit
Not
applicable
$niversit( autono,( 1!.+M 1).)M
'utono,( of depart,ents 1!.+M 1).)M
'utono,( of acade,ic staff 49.9M 1!.+M )).)M
$niversit( decision ,a@ing structures
5,anage,ent structures6
1!.+M )).)M 49.9M
'cade,ic progra,s )).)M 49.9M 1!.+M
.taff recruit,ent procedures 1!.+M 49.9M 1!.+M 1!.+M
.taff evaluation procedures )).)M )).)M 1!.+M 1!.+M
'llocation of budgetKresources )).)M )).)M )).)M
-rocure,ent procedures )).)M !!.+M
Inco,e generating activities 1!.+M )).)M 49.9M
Cost saving ,easures )).)M )).)M )).)M
'd,ission procedures 49.9M 1!.+M 1!.+M 1!.+M
.tudent fees 1!.+M 1).)M
.tudent support s(ste,s )).)M )).)M )).)M )).)M
'able >" Academic sta--s= opinion on the bene-its o- restructuring
Aspects o- Restructuring No benefit &oderate
Fenefit
.ignificant
Fenefit
Not
applicable
$niversit( autono,( )4.)M *1.2M 4.:M 1+.!M
'utono,( of depart,ents 49.9M *9.9M 19.9M 9.9
'utono,( of acade,ic staff !4.9M )9.9M 4.9M 9.9
$niversit( decision,a@ing structures
5,anage,ent structures6 )!.1M *+.*M 19.4M 4.)M
21
'cade,ic progra,s 2+.)M 2+.)M *9.:M *.4M
.taff recruit,ent procedures )).)M )1.:M 1!.+M 11.1M
.taff evaluation procedures *+.*M )!.1M 19.4M 4.)M
'llocation of budget K resources **.*M )1.:M 11.1M 4.!M
Inco,e generating activities 2+.1M **.*M 11.1M 1!.+M
Cost saving ,easures )1.:M 2+.1M 22.2M 11.1M
'd,ission procedures *9.9M 1).)M 2!.+M 29.9M
.tudent fees )).)M 1).)M 29.9M )).)M
.tudent support s(ste,s )+.4M 11.1M 12.4M )1.)M
22
'able ?" (upport sta--s= opinion on the bene-its o- restructuring
Aspects o- Restructuring No benefit &oderate
Fenefit
.ignificant
Fenefit
Not
applicable
$niversit( autono,( 1)M !1M 1)M 1)M
'utono,( of depart,ents 1+.*M 4!.4M 1+.*M 1.+M
'utono,( of acade,ic staff 1)M 42.)M 1)M 21.+M
$niversit( decision,a@ing structures
5,anage,ent structures6
21.+M *).!M 1)M 21.+M
'cade,ic progra,s 1+.*M *+.1M 21.+M 1)M
.taff recruit,ent procedures 2!.1M ):.1M 1+.* 1+.*M
.taff evaluation procedures 21.+M !1M *.)M 1)M
'llocation of budget K resources 11.)M 49M :M 22.+M
-rocure,ent procedures 21.+M ):.2M *.)M )*.1M
Inco,e generating activities 21.+M )9.*M 1).1M )*.1M
Cost saving ,easures 1+.*M ):.1M 1+.*M 2!.1M
'd,ission procedures 1)M )9.*M 2!.2M )9.*M
.tudent fees 1)M )*.+M 1+.4M )*.1M
.tudent support s(ste,s 12.4M *1.+M 29.1M 24M
.tudents8 perception of the benefits of restructuring focused on student services and the( <ere
as@ed to indicate <hether there <ere i,prove,ents in various services as a result of the
restructuring. In general students reported ,oderate to significant i,prove,ents in ,ost of the
areas surve(ed e"cept for cafeteria services. ' third of the students surve(ed <ere also of the
opinion that the student support services and the student J staff interaction have not i,proved.
Ho<ever= the ,a0orit( felt that there <ere ,oderate to significant i,prove,ents. The results are
tabulated in Table :.
'able @" (tudents= opinion on the improvements brought about by the restructuring
'spects of #estructuring
No
i,prove,ents
&oderate
i,prove,ents
.ignificant
i,prove,ents
Not
applicable
Infrastructural facilities 1.1 !*.+ 2!.4
Aournal and boo@ facilities in the
librar(
29.9 *1.! 21.! 2.:
'ccess to internet facilities 1+.1 4*.) 21.!
Cafeteria services *2.: 21.! 29.9 1.!
.tudents association activities 21.! *1.! 1+.1 4.+
Teaching facilities 11.* !1.: 24.+
Cultural activities :.* !2.4 14.! 12.4
Teaching ,ethodolog( 1+.! *1.2 )1.2 2.:
Lecturers attitude 11.1 2:.* 42.: 4.:
.tudent support services s(ste, )1.* *4.+ 29.9 2.:
.tudent J staff interaction )1.* )+.1 21.! 2.:
c" Administrators= opinion on the level o- autonomy granted as part o- the institutional
restructuring process"
'd,inistrators8 opinion on the level of autono,( <as varied on different aspects of the
restructuring. In other <ords= there appears to be no consensus a,ong the ad,inistrators <ith
respect to autono,(. &ost of the responses range bet<een Hhigh degrees of autono,(I to Hno
2)
autono,(I. /n the aspect of Hstudent evaluation proceduresI the range of response <as fro,
Htotal autono,(I to Hli,ited autono,(I.

/nl( on t<o aspects of restructuring can there be said to be agree,ent. /ne is <ith respect to the
Hdeter,ination of student feesI= <here al,ost ever(one felt that there <as no autono,( granted.
'nother aspect <hich ,ost of the ad,inistrators agree on is <ith regards to the introduction of
ne< progra,s <here al,ost ever(one felt that there <as onl( Hli,ited autono,(I granted to
the,. The su,,ar( of the result of the perception of autono,( <ith respects to particular aspects
of restructuring is tabulated in Table 19.
'able ,/" %pinion on the level o- autonomy in the restructuring"
Aspects o- Restructuring Total
autono,(
High degree
of autono,(
Li,ited
autono,(
No
autono,(
3ecision ,a@ing structure at the
institutional level
1!.+M 49.9M )).)M
3ecision ,a@ing structure at the
facult(Kdepart,ent level
)).)M )).)M )).)M
'cade,ic staff )).)M )).)M )).)M
Introducing ne< stud( progra,s 1!.+M 1).)M
.taff recruit,ent 1!.+M 49.9M )).)M
'llocation of budget to depart,ents 1!.+M )).)M 49.9M
-rocure,ent procedures )).)M 1!.+M 49.9M
Inco,e generating activities 1!.+M )).)M 49.9M
.tudent ad,issions 49.9M )).)M
3eter,ination of student fees 1!.+M 1).)M
.tudent evaluation procedures )).)M )).)M )).)M
'd,inistrators also felt that ,ain changes introduced in the area of Hdecision ,a@ing at the
universit( K institutional levelI has not been positive. &ost felt that the restructuring created an
additional la(er of bureaucrac( and others felt that the decision ,a@ing procedure <as essentiall(
si,ilar to those practiced prior to restructuring. /thers co,,ented that decision ,a@ing at the
institution <as too dependent on the co,,ittees and also too ,uch topdo<n= <ith little
consultation or collegialit(. .o,eti,es= the decision fro, top is not co,,unicated to the people
belo<.
d" Academic (ta--s= opinion on the academic aspects o- restructuring"
'cade,ic staffs <ere as@ed specificall( to indicate <hether the( agreed <ith certain ,atters <ith
respect to the acade,ic restructuring at the facult(. ' su,,ar( of the responses is presented in
Table 11.
'able ,," Academic (ta--s= opinion on certain aspects o- the academic restructuring"
'spects of restructuring .trongl(
disagree
3isagree 'gree .trongl(
agree
#estructuring enabled develop,ent of
innovative curriculu,.
)1.1M 4:.1M :.1M
#estructuring enabled develop,ent of
e,plo(,entoriented courses.
*4.4M *4.4M :.1M
#estructuring enabled develop,ent of ,ulti
disciplinar( and ,ultis@ill courses.
:.1M 22.+M 49M 11.2M
2*
#estructuring has strengthened the lin@s
bet<een research and teaching.
49M *9.:M :.1M
#estructuring has strengthened acade,ic
progra,s of the universit(.
*4.4M 4*.4M
#estructuring has i,proved interaction and
collaboration bet<een staff in different
depart,entsKschools.
:.1M 4:.1M )1.1M
#estructuring has i,proved access to and
sharing of facult( resources.
:.1M 4*.4M 2+.)M :.1M
#estructuring has reduced ad,inistrative
costs.
11.2M )!.*M )1.1M 1).!M
#estructuring has increased acade,ic
<or@load.
!).!M )!.*M
#estructuring has increased ad,inistrative
<or@load.
*.4M )!.*M 49M :.1M
#estructuring has increased ,onitoring and
control of resources.
*.4M 2+.)M 4:.1M :.1M
#estructuring has increased accountabilit(
,easures of the staff.
1).!M )!.*M 49M
/n t<o aspects of acade,ic restructuring= na,el( develop,ent of innovative curriculu,= and the
develop,ent of ,ultidisciplinar( courses K progra,,es= a larger ,a0orit( of acade,ic staff <ere
of the opinion that the restructuring has ,anaged to achieve the, co,pared to those <ho felt
other<ise. /n several aspects such as the develop,ent of e,plo(,ent oriented courses=
strengthening of research and teaching and strengthening the acade,ic progra,,es= the
acade,ic staff <ere eEuall( divided bet<een those <ho felt that the restructuring has achieved
these ob0ectives and those <ho felt that the restructuring has not achieved the,. /n t<o aspects=
vi?. i,prove,ent of interaction and collaboration bet<een schools= and i,proved access to
facult( resources= ,ore staff felt that these have not been achieved than those <ho felt the( have
been achieved. Interestingl(= a larger portion 5!7*6 disagreed that the restructuring has increased
their acade,ic <or@load.
e" (upport sta--s= opinion on the e--ect o- institutional restructuring"
's <ith the benefits of restructuring= support staff over<hel,ingl( felt that the restructuring has
had ,oderate to significant effects in ,ost aspects of restructuring. 3espite this= there is a s,all
portion of the support staff 5ranging fro, *.) M 1+.* M depending on the aspect concerned6=
<hich felt that the restructuring has had no effect. The su,,ar( of data is presented in Table 12.
'able ,." (upport sta--s= opinion on the e--ect o- institutional restructuring"
Aspects o- restructuring &o e--ect Moderate
e--ect
(igni-icant
e--ect
&ot
applicable
$niversit( autono,( *.) M 42.2 M 1).9 M )9.* M
'utono,( of depart,ents 1.) M !2.4 M 29.1 M 1.) M
'utono,( of acade,ic staff !4.2 M 1).9 M 21.+ M
$niversit( decision ,a@ing structures *.) M !9.: M 1).9 M 21.+ M
24
5,anage,ent structures6
'cade,ic progra,s 1.+ M *+.1 M 2!.1 M 1+.* M
.taff recruit,ent procedures :.1 M 49.9 M 22.+ M 11.2 M
.taff evaluation procedures :.4 M !!.+ M 1:.9 M *.1 M
'llocation of budget K resources 1).! M 4*.4 M 1).! M 11.2 M
-rocure,ent procedures 1+.* M 42.2 M 1.+ M 21.+ M
Inco,e generating activities 1).9 M 42.2 M )*.1 M
Cost saving ,easures 1.+ M 42.2 M 1+.* M 21.+ M
'd,ission procedures 1).9 M *).4 M 21.+ M 21.+ M
.tudent fees *.) M *).4 M 1+.* M )*.1 M
.tudent support s(ste,s :.4 M 42.* M 1*.) M 2).1 M
-" (tudents= opinion on certain aspect o- institutional restructuring"
.tudents <ere also as@ed us to <hether the( agreed <ith certain aspects of the restructuring that
has ta@en place. In particular= the( <ere as@ed to respond to five aspects na,el( the curriculu,
and evaluation procedures and changes in the ad,ission and fee structure 5if an(6.
The responses of the students <ere ,ainl( enthusiastic about restructuring <ith a large ,a0orit(
5over +4 per cent6 indicating that the( agreed <ith restructuring the curriculu, and that changes
be ,ade to the evaluation procedure. :9.+ per cent agreed that the curriculu, should contain
,ore career or e,plo(,ent oriented courses. The( also over<hel,ing agreed that changes
should be ,ade to the ad,ission procedure= and the fee structure. The su,,ar( of data is
provided in Table 1).
'able ,7" (tudents= opinion on some aspects o- restructuring"
'spects of #estructuring .trongl(
3isagree
3isagree 'gree .trongl(
'gree
Not
'pplicable
#estructuring curriculu, 4.:M 11.1M !*.+M 1*.+M 2.:M
Introduction of e,plo(,ent
oriented courses.
)+.1M !9M 2.:M
Changes in the ad,ission
procedures.
11.*M 41.*M 22.!M 1*.)M
Changes in the fee structure. 1.!M 24.+M )1.*M 21.!M 4.+M
Changes in the student
evaluation procedures
1*.+M 42.:M 2!.4M 4.:M

g" 6i--iculties in the implementation o- the restructuring process"
'd,inistrators <ere specificall( as@ed to identif( difficulties in the process of i,ple,entation of
the restructuring. Their response ho<ever seldo, focus on the process but rather the product of
restructuring <hich the( found proble,atic. .o,e of the co,,ents on the organisational
structure ,entioned included the observation that structure has re,ained the sa,e and also that
the ad,inistrative procedures also appear to be the sa,e e"cept that the facult( J school J
progra,,e structure is ,ore stratified than the facult( J depart,ent structure. This ,eans there
is an added la(er of bureaucrac(. The additional la(er in the organi?ation ,eant that decision
,a@ing no< too@ longer. Ho<ever= so,e <ere of the opinion that the ne< structure of the
organi?ation is ,ore realistic in that it allo<s acade,ician to ta@e control and o<nership of their
progra,,es and thereb( be ,ore accountable to the Eualit( of the progra,,es. -rogra,,es
2!
heads can do this since the( are not reall( bog do<n b( Had,inistrative dutiesI <hich should stop
at the Head of .chools and the 3eaner(. /ther co,,ents on the structure included the
observation that the definition of roles at each tier is not clear and still fu??( to so,e
ad,inistrators.
In the decision ,a@ing process= ad,inistrators co,,ented that there are too fe< people vested
<ith the po<er to ,a@e decision at the universit( level <ith respect to the facult( and thus the
validit( and reliabilit( of these decisions <ill be in Euestion. For instance= there is onl( one
representative for si" schools at the .enate 5in contrast to three 3eans for the .ocial .ciences and
Hu,anities= Language .tudies and 3evelop,ent .cience faculties previousl(. 'cade,ic staff
line of accountabilit( to Chairs of .chools and -rogra, Heads also need to be further clarified.
.o,e felt that the dependenc( on co,,ittees have slo<ed the, do<n in the decision ,a@ing
process.
/n support staff related ,atters= so,e co,,ented that the support staff <ere ,arginalised in the
process. The( <ere not consulted on the process and onl( ,et <ith ,anage,ent t<ice during the
entire process. 'lthough support staff understood that the restructuring <as essentiall( an
Qacade,ic restructuring8= the entire ad,inistrative and support s(ste, <as affected and thus the(
should have provided so,e input. For instance= the .chools 5co,pared to 3epart,ents6 carries
too heav( a burden= being accountable for a larger nu,ber of staff. Ho<ever= the Chairs are not
assisted b( an 'ssistant #egistrar. -rogra,,e Heads too= appears to have no ad,inistrative
po<er over their staff and this could lead to proble,s.
In relation to the students= so,e respondents observed that the students <ere never consulted nor
<ere the( infor,ed of the restructuring. Ho<ever= in the rethin@ing of ne< progra,,es=
students surve( and opinions <ere sought.
/n budget related ,atters= respondents <ere of the opinion that the budget allocation should ta@e
into account the si?e and the needs of the various schools. .o,e la,ented the fact that the budget
is still under a central s(ste, 5bursar6 and urged that the .chools be given certain autono,( <hen
it co,es to the budget.
2+
CHAPTER +
CONC,U)ION) AND RECO!!ENDATION)
!.1 .u,,ar( of the findings of the stud(
!.2 <h( did the refor, <or@ed <ell in (our countr(
!.) as assess,ent of <hat <or@s and <hat does not <or@ <hen restructuring is introduced at the
institutional level
!.* an advice to institutional ,anagers
The e"ternal influences for institutional restructuring= in the case of $%&= ca,e fro, various
directions. These included the various challenges of globalisation and the gro<th of ICT. 't the
sa,e ti,e= the i,perative for Eualit( and accountabilit( in the public institutions of higher
learning also ,eant that the public universities need to ree"a,ine their structures and their <a(s
of doing things. $%& has ta@en steps to<ard ,eeting these challenges fro, as earl( as 1::!.
/ne of the strategies is that of institutional restructuring.
The institutional restructuring underta@en at the facult( <as essentiall( an driven b( acade,ic
consideration as highlighted in -art II of this report. Ho<ever= the supporting areas 5such as
governance and resource allocation6 <ere also reva,ped to so,e e"tend. This stud( has
identified that the acade,ic restructuring of the social sciences at $%& <ere felt= on the <hole
to have ,ade an i,pact on different aspects of the facult( fro, autono,(= decision ,a@ing
process to the student evaluation procedures. /n the <hole= the ob0ectives of the institutional
restructuring as laid out in the principles and rationale for restructuring have been ,et and ,ust
surel( have so,e i,pact on the ,ission and function of $%& in ,eeting the challenges that
necessitated institutional restructuring in the first place.
Fased on the feedbac@ of the respondents in the stud( the follo<ing reco,,endations should be
given due consideration7
/n decision,a@ing processes7
Certain autono,( be given and responsibilit( devolved to the schools.
The de,arcation of po<ers and responsibilit( of -rogra, Heads and Chairs of .chool
should be elaborated on. -rogra, Head should focus on decision relating to the progra,
and acade,ic curriculu,.
' sense of o<nership of progra,,es be inculcated a,ong those <ho teach the
progra,,e.
I,portant decisions ,ade at the Facult( &anage,ent &eetings should be discussed and
revie<ed at Facult( &eetings to avoid onl( routine and ,undane ,atters being the
purvie< and agenda of facult( ,eetings.
21
&ore use of ICT in the disse,ination of decision and consultation <ith facult( ,e,bers
/n budget allocation s(ste, at the school level7
&ore involve,ent of facult( ,e,bers in budget preparation.
&ore autono,( at the school level in ,a@ing decision to spend allocation
/n staff recruit,ent at the school level7
&ore autono,( in the recruit,ent of support staff J currentl( the vie<s and opinion of
the .chools are so,eti,es sort in the recruit,ent of staff but final decisions rest <ith a
co,,ittee.
.e0a@ pela@sanaan peng@orporatan I-T'= beberapa @esan (ang positif dapat diperhati@an. 3i
antaran(a ter,asu@lah
a. -eng@orporatan ,ena,pa@@an @esan (ang @etara terhadap pe,antapan siste,
pengurusan di universiti. -erubahan ini disebab@an tanggung0a<ab diberi@an @epada
universiti untu@ ,engurus@an hal penting seperti Le,baga -engarah $niversiti=
@eperintahan 5governan6 dan lain lain.
b. Fuda(a a@auntabiliti dan audit ,e,beri @esan positif. %e<u0udan audit dala,an di setiap
I-T' selain audit dari luar ,en0adi@an audit lebih teliti dan bertanggung0a<ab @erana
tinda@an dala, perbelan0aan sentiasa dipantau.
c. %eber@esanan @os 0uga ,enun0u@@an petanda positif @erana setiap perbelan0aan (ang
diperuntu@@an untu@ sesuatu pro0e@ atau a@tiviti diguna@an secara betul. Balaupun
@adang@ala peruntu@@an (ang diberi adalah @urang daripada @os sebenar= sesuatu pro0e@
atau a@tiviti tersebut ,asih boleh dila@sana@an dengan ber@esan. .ecara tida@ langsung
ini ,e,bantu @e arah pen0i,atan @os.
.elain daripada @esan di atas= pen(erapan @onsep @orporat 0uga telah ,ula ,ena,pa@@an hasil
<alaupun tida@ ,en(eluruh. -entadbir se,ua universiti telahpun ,e,ula@an lang@ah @e arah
peng@orporatan dengan penubuhan s(ari@at ha@ ,ili@ universiti (ang bertu0uan untu@ ,en0ana
@e<angan.
I-T' 0uga ,ula ,enun0u@@an @esungguhan dala, bersaing sesa,a ,ere@a. 'spe@ persaingan
(ang @etara boleh dilihat dari segi pen(elidi@an dan @ualiti graduan (ang dihasil@an. &ere@a
tida@ ,ahu @etinggalan berbanding I-T' lain @erana pencapaian ,ere@a a@an ,e,beri @esan
(ang positif terhadap ,ere@a sendiri.
3ala, persaingan @e arah @ece,erlangan ini= aspe@ @ualiti 0uga tida@ dilupa@an. I-T' ,ula
,enge0ar pengi@tirafan ber@aitan @ualiti seperti I./ dala, beberapa bidang. -engi@tirafan ini
penting sebagai da(a tari@an @epada u,u, dan sebagai @a(u pengu@ur terhadap se0auh ,ana@ah
@e0a(aan (ang dicapai.
Kelemahan
%e@angan dan @a<alan (ang <u0ud telah ,e,beri @esan (ang ,ele,ah@an pela@sanaan
per@orporatan I-T'. 'ntara @ele,ahan tersebut ter,asu@lah isu otono,i di ,ana I-T' tida@
2:
diberi@an @uasa ,utla@ atau @uasa otono,i sepenuhn(a untu@ ,e,utus@an segala tinda@an
dala, apa 0ua per@ara. &asih ban(a@ @a<alan (ang ,eng@ong@ong @uasa I-T' dan ,ere@a
,asih diperlu@an untu@ ,eru0u@ @epada @e,enterian dala, beberapa bidang. %ele,ahan lain
(ang dapat di@enal pasti ter,asu@lah7
a. -erte,bungan pe,i@iran di @alangan tenaga a@ade,i@ iaitu pe,i@iran sebagai ahli
a@ade,i@ dan pe,i@iran sebagai ahli @orporat. Contohn(a= seseorang ahli a@ade,i@
(ang ,enghasil@an bu@u ,e,pun(ai ,asalah dala, ,e,asar@an @ar(an(a lantaran
pengala,an (ang terhad dala, bidang pe,asaran. %e@urangan ini ,en(ebab@an
@ar(an(a tida@ ,a,pu untu@ di@o,ersil@an dan seterusn(a ,engurang@an @euntungan.
b. >an0aran @e<angan di I-T' ,asih gagal untu@ ,enari@ ,inat ahli a@ade,i@ bertaraf
antarabangsa. .e@iran(a ahli a@ade,i@ dari luar negara dia,bil untu@ ber@hid,at di
I-T'= ba(aran ga0i @epadan(a ,asih ,engi@ut s@i, @era0aan. %eadaan ini berbe?a
dengan .ingapura (ang sanggup ,e,ba(ar ga0i ahli a@ade,i@ dari luar dengan berlipat
@ali ganda.
c. Tenaga a@ade,i@ di I-T' @urang berupa(a untu@ ,enga,bil @ese,patan dala,
,eng@o,ersil@an su,ber intele@. Tenaga a@ade,i@ ini ,e,pun(ai pengetahuan=
su,ber= infrastrutur dan @e,ahiran tetapi tida@ ce@ap untu@ ,eng@o,ersil@ann(a
lantaran pengetahuan dan pengala,an dala, dunia @orporat (ang @urang.
d. -engurusan @e<angan di I-T' sering ,endapat teguran daripada %e,enterian
%e<angan dan 'udit Negara @erana ,asih terdapat @ele,ahan <alaupun I-T' sudah
,ula di@orporat@an.
Aersepsi terhadap IA'A
3i dala, ,e,asu@i dunia @orporat= I-T' seharusn(a tida@ ,elupa@an persepsi luar tentang
I-T'. -ersepsi ini perlu diperti,bang@an oleh I-T' supa(a perubahan (ang dila@u@an dala,
peng@orporatan tida@ a@an tersasar daripada persepsi ini. 'ntara persepsi tersebut ialah7
a. &as(ara@at ,e,andang tinggi terhadap orang (ang beril,u. 'hli a@ade,i@ dianggap
sebagai ,ahaguru (ang boleh ,e,beri hu0ah= fat<a dan pandangan dala, ,e,bi,bing
,as(ara@at. 3i sa,ping itu graduan (ang di@eluar@an perlulah ber@ualiti @erana @ualiti
graduan ,encer,in@an @ualiti I-T'. 3i sa,ping itu I-T' dianggap sebagai agen @epada
perubahan sosioe@ono,i ,as(ara@at.
b. -iha@ industri ,enganggap I-T' dapat ,e,bantu ,ere@a untu@ ,ening@at@an e@ono,i
,elalui @er0asa,a #&3 dengan ,enghasil@an produ@ (ang @o,petitif dan ,engada@an
latihan dan per@ongsian. Aadi @eperluan untu@ industri luar tida@ harus di@etepi@an.
%e,enterian -endidi@an ,e,buat penilaian (ang teliti terhadap sesebuah I-T' @erana
peruntu@@an (ang tinggi diberi@an dan @e,enterian berharap hasiln(a adalah seti,pal. 'ntara
penilaian (ang dibuat ter,asu@lah sa,a ada
a. perbelan0aan (ang diperuntu@@an oleh %e,enterian seti,pal dengan @ualiti graduan (ang
dihasil@anL
b. tenaga a@ade,i@ di I-T' ,encapai tahap produ@tiviti (ang diharap@anL
c. I-T' bersedia ,enghadapi isu (ang ,encabarL dan
d. perancangan dan pengurusan I-T' ber@esan untu@ ,encapai@ece,erlangan.
)9
%era0aan pula ,engharap@an agar pela@sanaan dasar universiti selaras dengan hasrat @era0aan.
-e,bangunan su,ber ,anusia ,estilah relevan supa(a dapat ,enanggani ,asalah
pengangguran. &asalah @etida@sesuaian @ursus dengan @er0a 0uga perlu diatasi.
'indaBan (usulan
Feberapa tinda@an susulan sedang dirancang dan perlu dila@sana@an de,i ,en0a(a@an
peng@orporatan I-T' &ala(sia.
a. I-T' perlu ,ening@at@an siste, pengurusan dala,an (ang ,eliputi se,ua pering@at
pengurusan dengan ,en(edia@an latihan (ang cu@up serta ,elibat@an @eduadua tenaga
a@ade,i@ dan @a@itangan so@ongan. %eupa(aan ,engurus @e<angan 0uga perlu
diting@at@an supa(a tida@ berla@u pe,ba?iran dan peruntu@an dapat diguna@an secara
opti,u,. &utu pens(arah dan produ@tiviti perlu sentiasa dipantau supa(a dapat
,engi,bangi @os. Fuda(a @ualiti atau persaingan global harus dititi@berat dengan
,engu0ud@an pusat @ualiti di setiap I-T' bagi ,en(edia@an @riteria pia<ai bagi
,e,udah@an persaingan di pering@at global.
b. -e,bangunan i,e0 dan pe,betulan persepsi terhadap I-T' harus dila@u@an. 'ntara
persepsi liar ,engenai I-T' ialah I-T' anti@era0aan= tida@ ,a,pu ,enghasil@an
graduan ber,utu= pens(arah I-T' tida@ produ@tif dan sebagain(a. I-T' harus
,enang@is segala persepsi liar ini dengan ,e,buat perubahan @erana persepsi ini sedi@it
seban(a@ a@an ,engganggu proses peng@orporatan.
c. -iha@ %e,enterian -endidi@an perlu ,en(edia@an garis panduan dan pia<aian supa(a
peng@orporatan I-T' se0a0ar dengan @ehenda@ @e,enterian dan @era0aan. .e@iran(a
garis panduan ini tida@ disedia@an= di@huatiri peng@orporatan I-T' tida@ dapat
diselaras@an dan ,engundang ban(a@ ,asalah.
d. Latihan pengurusan @orporat dan @e<angan untu@ se,ua lapisan pentadbir perlu
diting@at@an. Latihan ini ,elibat@an I-T' itu sendiri= I-T' sesa,a I-T'= I-T' dengan
%e,enterian= dan 0uga se@tor s<asta. Intera@si dengan piha@ luar perlu selalu diada@an
seperti dialog dengan se@tor s<asta untu@ ,enon0ol@an @ualiti (ang terdapat pada I-T'.
-ada ,asa (ang sa,a= dengan dialog sede,i@ian= I-T' ,a,pu ,e,aha,i @eperluan
se,asa piha@ luar dan ,a@lu,at tersebut boleh di0adi@an input dala, ,erang@a su@atan
@ursus @ursus di I-T'.
e. %ench*aring K %est (ractices dala, cara ,engurus universiti perlu ,elihat @epada
contoh (ang dia,al@an di dala, dan luar negara. Tinda@an ini a@an dapat ,e,bantu
I-T' dala, ,en(edia@an panduan ,engurus universiti (ang bervariasi dan ber@esan.
f. I-T' perlu lebih fle@sibel dala, ,en(edia@an peraturan di universiti. I-T' tida@ perlu
han(a ,enunggu arahan daripada Aabatan -endidi@an Tinggi 5A-T6. .e@iran(a I-T'
,e,pun(ai cadangan dala, apa 0ua aspe@ peraturan= ,a@a cadangan tersebut haruslah
di,a0u@an @epada A-T untu@ penelitian.
('RA'E+I 2.//7 C ./,/3
-ada tahun 2919 dianggar@an <arganegara berusia 1+ J 2) tahun adalah sera,ai * 0uta orang.
3ari 0u,lah tersebut dianggar@an *9M 51.! 0uta6 a@an ,eneri,a peluang pendidi@an tinggi.
)49=999 daripadan(a adalah pela0ar i0a?ah perta,a dengan !9M dala, bidang sains dan te@nologi
dan *9M dala, bidang sastera. .eterusn(a= 24M daripada @eluaran i0a?ah perta,a a@an
berpeluang ,engi@uti pendidi@an i0a?ah tinggi. .asaran 2919 0uga ,engharap@an +4M daripada
pens(arah I-T' ,e,pun(ai @ela(a@@an do@tor falsafah atau setaraf. 3ari segi pengurusan
)1
@e<angan= sasaran 2919 ,en0ang@a@an )9M @os pengurusan universiti a@an diperolehi sendiri
oleh I-T'.
.elain itu %e,enterian -endi@an ,engganggar@an baha<a setiap I-T' a@an ,e,pun(ai satu
pusat @ece,erlangan (ang ,en0urus terhadap sesuatu bidang tertentu bertaraf antarabangsa
,en0elang 2919. Ini sesuai dengan hasrat %e,enterian untu@ ,e<u0ud@an beberapa universiti
pen(elidi@an di &ala(sia. Ciriciri universiti pen(elidi@an ialah universiti (ang ,enu,pu@an
perhatian dala, bidang pen(elidi@an. $niversiti ini perlu ,e,pun(ai bilangan pela0ar sis<a?ah
se@urang@urangn(a sera,ai *9M daripada 0u,lah pela0ar. 3i sa,ping itu= universiti perlu
,endapat@an geran pen(elidi@an dari luar= dan bu@an han(a bergantung se,ata,ata @epada
geran I#-' dan @era0aan.
Aenutup
-eranan I-T' perlu diper@u@uh@an bagi ,enghadapi cabaran era baru sa,a ada cabaran dari
dala, negara ,ahupun luar negara. Tinda@an ini perlu dia,bil supa(a I-T' ,a,pu bersaing
dengan ,ana,ana universiti dan dapat ,e,enuhi @eperluan guna tenaga negara dan industri.
3ala, hal ini= cabaran te@nologi (ang sentiasa ber@e,bang perlu dia,bil@ira dala, ,erancang
pe,bangunan universiti. I-T' perlu sentiasa ter@ini dan pe,bangunan I-T' haruslah selari
dengan per@e,bangan te@nologi supa(a tida@ @etinggalan.
-e,antapan @eupa(aan dala, pengurusan= penga0aran= pen(elidi@an dan perancangan harus
diting@at@an supa(a I-T' ,a,pu ,en0adi ,odel peng@orporatan (ang ber0a(a.
I-T' perlu sensitif terhadap @eperluan luar seperti ,as(ara@at dan industri supa(a I-T' @e@al
relevan. -ada ,asa (ang sa,a I-T' perlu sentiasa ,ening@at@an @e(a@inan orang ra,ai dan
,e,betul@an persepsi liar (ang tida@ tepat. I-T' harus ,e,pun(ai se,angat persaingan global
dan tida@ lagi ,enu,pu @epada persaingan sesa,a sendiri. -ersaingan harus dialih@an @epada
universiti luar dan ter@enal seperti $niversiti /"ford= Ca,bridge dan $niversiti Harvard. .e,oga
apa 0ua perubahan (ang dila@u@an e@oran peng@orporatan dapat ,e,ba<a @epada pening@atan
@ualiti pendidi@an di I-T' a,n(a dan &ala(sia @hususn(a.

Endnote
It has onl( been t<o (ears since the ne< Facult( of .ocial .ciences and Hu,anities has been
established. 3uring that ti,e= the ne< Facult( has ,ade significant progress in ter,s of research
and publication 5personal co,,unications of the founding 3ean and report fro, the retreat of the
ne< facult(6 . &uch re,ains to be done= including a blueprint for the long ter, plans of the
facult(= co,,it,ent of the ,anage,ent= as <ell as enhanced co,,unication and infor,ation
dispersal. '<areness and perfor,ance enhance,ent as <ell as HsustainedI perfor,ance of the
staff to the ne< facult(8s ,ission and vision and co,,it,ent to Eualit( are crucial to the
continual i,prove,ent and strive to<ards e"cellence.
)2
RE#ERE&CE(
'nu<ar 'li= 2999. !anaging change in higher education. -resented at 4
th
-ublic .ervice
National Conference= INT'N= %uala Lu,pur= &ala(sia. 222* Aun 2999.
'?,i Na@aria. 2999. Educational develop,ent and refor,ation in the &ala(sian education
s(ste,. Challenges in the ne< ,illenniu,. 9ournal o) +outheast Asian Education7 2ol. 171.
511)1)*6.
I@ra, &. .aid. 299). +ustaining and enhancing society through education in the era o)
glo0ali6ation7 )rd. $%&$C Conference 1*14 'pril 299).
Hassan .aid. 299)7 Pengor(oratan institusi (endidian tinggi awa*7 -rosiding .e,inar
-engurusan $niversiti -en(elidi@an. -usat -e,bangunan '@ade,i@. $%&.
.a(oran #ahunan :;;1 Universiti 3e0angsaan !alaysia7
.a(oran #ahunan :;;; Universiti 3e0angsaan !alaysia7
.a(oran #ahunan 1999 Universiti 3e0angsaan !alaysia7
.a(oran #ahunan 199< Universiti 3e0angsaan !alaysia7
.a(oran #ahunan 199' Universiti 3e0angsaan !alaysia7
.a(oran #ahunan 1996 Universiti 3e0angsaan !alaysia7
&ohd. .alleh &ohd. Gasin. 299). =lo0ali6ation and higher education in !alaysia. -roceedings
of the *
th
Fiennial Co,parative Education .ociet( of 'sia Conference. Fandung.
&uha,,ad Gaha(a & I,ran Ho 'bdullah. 299). Challenges o) =lo0ali6ation2 Educational
re)or* in tertiary education. -roceedings of the *
th
Fiennial Co,parative Education .ociet(
of 'sia Conference. Fandung
Nir<an Idrus. 299). Educational re)or*s and institutional research. )
rd
. .E''I# Foru,=
Fang@o@= 141+ /ctober 299).
.haharir &oha,ad Nain 5ed.6 1::*. &alsa)ah Universiti 3e0angsaan !alaysia. Fangi7 $%&.
Panduan Prasiswa6ah &aulti +ains +osial dan 3e*anusiaan :;;:4:;;>
Panduan Prasiswa6ah &aulti +ains 3e*asyaraatan , 3e*anusiaan :;;;4:;;1
Panduan Prasiswa6ah &aulti Penga"ian %ahasa :;;;4:;;1
Panduan Prasiswa6ah &aulti +ains Pe*0angunan :;;;4:;;1
ACK&%D)E6+EME&'
The stud( had been ,ade possible via a research grant fro, $%& 511A;299)6 and $NE.C/ on
Institutional #estructuring in 'sia. Be <ould also li@e to than@ all <ho participated in the stud(.
WORLD CONFERENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Higher Education in the Twenty-ir!t Century
"i!ion and Action
UNESCO, Paris, 5 9 October 1998
"OLU#E " $ %LENAR&
#a'ay!ia
Note1: To meet UNESCO publishin stan!ar!s, some e!itin o"
papers has been re#uire!$
Note%: &uthors are responsible "or the choice an! the presentation
o" the "acts containe! in sine! articles an! "or the opinions
e'presse! therein, (hich are not necessaril) those o"
UNESCO an! !o not commit the Orani*ation$
E+,99-.EP-/C.E-0ol$0,1S,128
))
1ala)sia
()eech o Dr *ohari #at+
Head o the #a'ay!ian De'egation at the Wor'd Conerence on Higher Education
3n 4eepin (ith theme: Management and Financing of Higher Education, 3 (oul! li4e to share (ith
)ou the
challenes con"rontin the manaement o" hiher e!ucation in 1ala)sia an! some o" our
principal concerns
as (e mo5e into the ne't millennium$ These are as "ollo(s: (i) expanding enrollment, (ii) quality
and
relevance, (iii) funding higher education.
(i) Expanding Enrolment:
/ith impro5e! access to primar) an! secon!ar) e!ucation, more an! more )oun people are
eliible to see4 a!mission into institutions o" hiher e!ucation$ The challene is ho( best can (e
satis") this
increasin !eman!6 To a!!ress the capacit) problem, (e ha5e establishe! three ne( public
uni5ersities
o5er the last 5 )ears$ 3n tan!em (ith the e'pansion o" public uni5ersities, (e ha5e also
encourae! the
settin up o" pri5ate institutions o" hiher e!ucation$ 7ut the challene is: are we optimizing the
utilization of
our exiting reource!
8or so lon the public sector has been the sole pro5i!er o" hiher e!ucation$ To a lare e'tent,
throuh its a""irmati5e actions, the public sector has been able to ensure broa!er access to hiher
e!ucation
to the !isa!5antae! sections o" societ)$ The #uestion is: "o what extent can we rely on the
private ector
to addre ome of the im#alance and inequitie in term of opportunitie to higher education!
/hat
policies an! strateies nee! to be put in place to ensure that pri5ate sector pro5i!ers act
responsibl) an! are
accountable to societ) at lare6 9rante! that the pri5ate sector can help alle5iate some o" the
"inancial
problems in "un!in hiher e!ucation, our challene is also ho( to nurture the or!erl) ro(th an!
health)
competition bet(een public an! pri5ate institutions$
E'pansion in enrolment also brins (ith it a much !i5erse stu!ent population (ith !i""erent nee!s$
No loner is hiher e!ucation aime! at meetin the nee!s o" homoenous roup o" 18,%1 )ears
ol! (ho
stu!) "ull time$ The challene is also ho( e""ecti5el) can institutions o" hiher e!ucation respon!
to the
nee!s o" mature stu!ents (ho (ish to stu!) on a part time basis or those (ho (ish to up!ate
their
4no(le!e an! s4ills to 4eep up (ith the chanin :ob en5ironment$ This re#uires institutions o"
hiher
e!ucation to !e5elop ne( prorammes, rene( e'istin contents as (ill as intro!uce ne( mo!es
o" !eli5er) to
respon! to these ne( nee!s$
;ii< Quality and Relevance:
&lon (ith the challenes pose! b) the e'pansion in enrollment, o" paramount concern to us is
ho(
#ualit) an! rele5ance o" hiher e!ucation can be continuousl) enhance! an! ensure!$ /e !o not
!ismiss
the notion that measures to enhance #ualit) an! rele5ance are to some e'tent constraine! b)
insu""icient
"inancial resources$ /e ac4no(le!e that the #ualit) o" teachin, sta"", in"rastructure an!
research "or
)*
instance re#uire substantial "inancial support$ .o(e5er, (e also belie5e that puttin in place
appropriate
policies an! practices (ith rear!s to sta"" recruitment, riorous #ualit) assessment, appropriate
use o"
technolo) an! "or(ar!,loo4in manaement can contribute pro"oun!l) to(ar!s enhancement o"
#ualit) an!
rele5ance in hiher e!ucation$
;iii< Funding Higher Education:
Our basic premise is that hiher e!ucation is a strateic social in5estment an! there"ore
a!e#uate
public "un!s must be committe! "or this purpose$ .o(e5er in the (a4e o" rapi! increase in the
!eman! "or
hiher e!ucation an! the critical nee! to achie5e #uantum leaps in rear! to #ualit) ;o" teachin,
learnin an!
research< an! output, (e ha5e to be pramatic an! to a!mit that the countr) can no loner
support a hiher
e!ucation s)stem (hich is (holl) !epen!ent on public "un!s$ /e ha5e there"ore ta4en a""irmati5e
measures
to encourae an! nourish the ro(th o" pri5ate in5estment in hiher e!ucation$
$lenary % &ia'$acific
The pri5ate sector pro5i!ers o" hiher e!ucation ha5e since ma!e a commen!able presence in
terms o" numbers, an! to!a) the business o" e!ucation has become a 5er) competiti5e one$
.o(e5er
issues relatin to #ualit), rele5ance an! cost are an! (ill continue to be a principal source o"
tension amon
parents, stu!ents, public authorities an! the pri5ate sector pro5i!ers$ /e are min!"ul that there
are
substantial !i""erences in terms o" the #ualit) o" learnin an! teachin amon the pri5ate sector
pro5i!ers$
/e belie5e that pri5ate sector pro5i!ers o" hiher e!ucation li4e their public sector counterparts
must
persua!e themsel5es that = $the) (ill ma4e the #ualit) o" e!ucation a priorit) secon! to none >$
Public
polic) ma4ers on its part share this onerous responsibilit)$ /e ha5e at this critical phase in the
!e5elopment
o" our hiher e!ucation, establishe! a national accre!itation boar! to !etermine, e5aluate an!
monitor #ualit)
stan!ar!s o" proramme, teachin an! learnin in the pri5ate sector institutions$ /e are not
prepare! to
compromise #ualit) "or #uantit)$
The economic slo(!o(n (hich has an! still is a!5ersel) a""ectin the East &sian reion has
"orce!
our institutions o" hiher e!ucation to ma4e cutbac4s in their operatin an! !e5elopment bu!ets,
sta""
!e5elopment, upra!in an! mo!erni*ation o" e#uipments an! in"rastructure, recruitment o" sta""
as (ell
international cooperation$ 0ie(e! in another perspecti5e this ma) be blessin o" sorts "or it has
rein"orce!
the nee! to seriousl) see4 to !i5ersit) "un!in sources as (ell as e'pe!ite measures to
implement incomeeneratin
acti5ities$ 3n the 1ala)sian conte't, 3 shoul! a!! that "or oo! reasons, institutions o" hiher
e!ucation are not at libert) to unilaterall) increase tuition "ees$ /e accept the "act that o5erseas
stu!ent "ees
are unli4el) to be substantial sources o" "un!in$ Un!er these circumstances, (e ha5e little
choice but to
)4
persua!e uni5ersities to share the responsibilit) o" sourin "or "un!s$ &lternati5e sources o"
"un!in (oul!
encompass en!o(ments, alumni contributions an! income,eneratin acti5ities, inclu!in
contract research
an! in5estment acti5ities !irectl) relate! to the core business o" uni5ersities$
3n !e5elope! countries, particularl) in the /est, institutions an! alumni ha5e "ostere! a lon
tra!ition
o" close relationship an! alumni contributions can be substantial$ Similarl) in!ustr),uni5ersit)
lin4aes
!e5elope! o5er the )ears ha5e le! to mutuall) bene"icial results$ Un"ortunatel), (e ha5e still a
lon (a) to o
in terms o" !e5elopin close relationship bet(een alumni an! institutions or buil!in s)ner)
bet(een
in!ustr) an! institutions$
?econi*in that insu""icient "inancial resources (ill continue to be a ma:or constraint an! rather
than
!ebate this issue, (e are challenin institutions to ta4e a har! loo4 (ithin an! to institute
measures to
eliminate manaement (ea4nesses an! ine""iciencies in the utili*ation o" human an! material
resources$
To(ar!s the en!, (e ha5e institute! the necessar) chanes in the institutional structures an!
o5ernance o"
hiher e!ucation$ /e belie5e that the ne(er uni5ersities are in a better position than their ol!er
counterparts
to initiate ne( norms, practices an! routines in respect o" their o5erall manaement$ /e also
belie5e that
(hether the) are ne(l) "orme! or establishe! ones, it is the critical role o" the institutions@
lea!ership to ma4e
a para!im shi"t in the manaement o" hiher e!ucation$ The pro"oun! a!5ancements in
in"ormation
technolo) shoul! be capitali*e! to brin about impro5ements in the manaement o" the
institutions@
resources$
/e also ta4e coni*ance that e'istin public sector "rame(or4 an! mechanism in rear! to
"inance
!oes not ta4en into consi!eration the uni#ueness inherent in the institutional character,
o5ernance an!
manaement o" hiher e!ucation$ This has o"ten been the source o" tense relations bet(een the
manaement o" hiher e!ucation an! the aca!emic communit) on the one han! an! public
authorities on
the other han!$ 3n a!!ition, the present "un!in mechanism !oes not pro5i!e incenti5es "or more
e""icient
utili*ation o" resources nor the enhancement o" #ualit)$ This ma4es it !i""icult "or institutions to
a!:ust the
!istribution o" "inancial resources to chanin circumstances, such as the one (e are currentl)
e'periencin$
8or these reasons an! as an interal part o" the re"ormation o" our hiher e!ucation s)stem, (e
are
earnestl) e'aminin an! benchmar4in alternati5e "un!in mechanisms (ith a 5ie( to a!optin
an!
implementin essential elements into our s)stem$
On the issue o" sharin o" responsibilit) (ith other sta4ehol!ers on the "un!in o" hiher
e!ucation,
(e are min!"ul that this i!ea (ill not "in! much appeal$ 8inancin o" hiher e!ucation as (e 4no(
is
)!
intricatel) lin4e! (ith the political, social an! cultural 5alues an! conte't o" a societ)$ 3t (oul! be
recalle! at
the outset, our basic premise is that hiher e!ucation is "or the state to pro5i!e$ Nonetheless (e
are
pursuin this i!ea o" cost,sharin, albeit 5er) cautiousl)$ /e (ill not consi!er implementin "ull
cost,reco5er)
)et$ 7ut (e "in! it ine5itabl) impossible not to increase "ees incrementall)$ The public at lare ,
parents,
stu!ents, communit), in!ustr) an! the pri5ate sector must reali*e an! accept the "act that
e!ucation, #ualit)
e!ucation, in this technoloical ae has its price$
http7KKunesdoc.unesco.orgKi,agesK9911K9911+)K11+)1)e.pdf

At first, the need for graduate education in Malaysia was felt mainly by the universities
themselves. The minimum qualification to be a university lecturer in Malaysia was (still is in
many campuses) the master's degree, most of which were obtained internationally. Many
lecturers with this minimum qualification went on to do their doctoral degrees overseas,
mainly in the nglish!spea"ing countries (Australia, #ew $ealand, %&, and %'A).
'ince the Malaysian economy was doing well during much of the period (()*+!)*), financing
graduate training of these lecturers was not a big financial problem. The Malaysian currency
vis!,!vis the %' -ollar strengthened from .M/.++0( %'- to about .M1.20( %'- between
()*+ and ())*. The 3ublic 'ervices -epartment (3'-) was given ample allocation to support
these training programs. 4ater, a scheme, "nown as '"im 4atihan A"ademi" 5umpiutra
('4A5), for bumiputra lecturers was instituted, whereby bumiputra graduates with e6cellent
academic records were recruited by the universities as Tutors, and then sent overseas to do
their Master's and 3h.-.s. At the same time, civil servants in the Administrative and
-iplomatic 'ervices and in the 3rofessional -epartments (e.g. Agriculture, 7orestry, 3ublic
8or"s, etc) were also being sent in droves to do their advanced degrees overseas. This went
on for more than two decades. As a result of this liberal policy, development of graduate
education in the local universities too" a bac" seat. The priority of the universities was
undergraduate education.
9owever, as more and more lecturers were returning home with their 3h.-.s, the graduate
programs of local universities gained momentum. More candidates, mainly school teachers,
were applying to do their graduate degrees locally in the soft sciences. As most of these
teachers are part!time students, universities have arranged wee"!end classes for them, and
their full!time counterparts. :ne attraction of the local universities to these teachers is the
liberal policy of allowing the use of 5ahasa Melayu and nglish media of instruction at
graduate level
;
. As most of the new entrants into the graduate school would have had their
education fully in 5M, the use of the national language at the graduate level was a natural
development. %&M's and %'M's language policy requires students' theses be prepared in 5M,
)+
unless prior permission has been obtained from the 'enate. 3ermission is almost automatically
given to international students to write in nglish or Arabic.
At the same time, the fle6ibility allowed to international students who are more comfortable
with nglish, attracts many applicants from some African, Middle!eastern countries and the
<ndian 'ub!continent. These international students are aware that even though writing s"ill in
nglish is necessary to underta"e graduate programs in Malaysia, they also "now they do not
have to pass any T:74!li"e nglish competency tests before they could be admitted, unli"e
admission into universities in 8estern countries. As cost of higher education continued to rise
in the nglish!spea"ing countries, more and more Third 8orld students were applying to study
in Malaysia.
7"/ +ro4th o- Arivate Higher Education
There are now close to =++ private higher learning institutions in Malaysia offering degrees
and diplomas in various fields of study
(
. They complement the wor" of the public universities
in delivering higher education. 8hat economic and political developments spurred the growth
of private higher education in Malaysia> .apid economic growth is certainly an important
factor in growth of private higher education in Malaysia. <n the first twenty!three years of
independence (()2*!*+), the Malaysian economy grew at the rapid rate of 2.?@ (.ao ()*=,
cited in Aomo ())+), and averaged at *.?@ between ()*(!?+ (7ourth Malaysia 3lan, cited in
Aomo ())+). 7or the period ())1!)*, real B-3 oscillated between *.?@ (())1) and ).2@
(())2) (conomic .eport ())*!)?). 'ince <ndependence, the country used e6port earnings
wisely to improve living standards by building infrastructure (roads, railways,
telecommunication, hydroelectric proCects etc), schools, hospitals, universities, etc. and to pay
subsidies to the poorer strata of society, such as smalltime farmers, and other low!income
families
1
. As incomes of families improved over time, the demand for higher education grew.
The public sector alone could not cope with this rising demand. At the height of the economic
boom of the )+s, Malaysia wanted to speed up the production of its "nowledge wor"ers in an
attempt to sustain the high economic growth (that is, up to ())*). 'o, in ())=, the Malaysian
3arliament passed the 3rivate 9igher ducational <nstitutions Act (39<A) to allow the private
sector to enter the higher education mar"et in a big and more regulated way. This Act opened
the floodgatesD The business sector, seeing this golden opportunity, did not waste much time
(not necessarily to ma"e huge profits) and immediately rushed in to set up colleges offering
tertiary programmes that could be completed in a shorter time after the '3M (school
certificate). The Act also empowers the Minister of ducation to approve or disapprove the
setting up of private colleges and to invite selected companies to set up private universities
EArticle =(()F. 8ith the Act, a new post (.egistrar Beneral of 3rivate 9igher ducational
<nstitutions) was created in the Ministry of ducation to 'supervise' these private institutions
and to regulate them, creating a 'highly regulated' industry in the process!as perceived by
some in the business.
)1
nrolment in the private colleges (now around (++,+++) gained momentum soon after the
economy went into tailspin in Auly ())* when the Malaysian .inggit plummeted from .M1.2 to
the %' -ollar to .M;.1, before being rescued by the government through capital control.
Today, the Malaysian currency stands fi6ed at .M/.? to the -ollar. At this rate of e6change,
many Malaysians (including the government) who have been sending their children (and in the
case of the government, their sponsored students) overseas for higher education, find the
going rather tough financially, as Malaysians are now /;@ poorer than before, in -ollar
terms). As a result, many parents have recalled their childrenG and the Malaysian government
has drastically reduced the number of students sent abroad, in favour of local universities.
Three public and four private universities were founded during the present decade to meet the
demand for higher education, not counting the hundreds of colleges that enter into twinning
arrangements with foreign universities (the so!called '/H+' programmes that replaced '1H(')
/
.
The rapid growth of information technology (<T) globally during this decade has also spurred
the growth of private higher education in Malaysia. Many private colleges were established
with the primary purpose of imparting computer "nowledge and s"ills which were (still are) in
high demand in the private sector. This euphoria gained further momentum when the
Malaysian government announced the development of the Multimedia 'uper Iorridor in
3utraCaya where <T companies from all over the world will be housed and given ta6 brea"s to
carry out <T business there. Aust to underscore the seriousness of the government in <T, it
devoted a whole chapter in the 'eventh Malaysia 3lan to <T development. :ne government!
lin"ed private university, %niversiti Tele"om, has even changed its name to JMultimedia
%niversityJ to capitaliKe on its special area of focus.
The Malaysian government's plan to ma"e Malaysia a center of e6cellence in education in the
'outheast Asian region is another factor that has encouraged the business sector to e6pand
their education arms to attract foreign students. To facilitate this, the government has eased
the requirements for student visas to foreign students.
1
Malaysia has eleven public universitiesLcollegesM %&M, %M, %3M, %'M, %TM, %%M, %#<TMA.A, <<%,
%#<MA', %M' and &oleC Tun"u Abdul .ahman, with an estimated enrolment of (2+,+++ students.
They offer limited opportunities for foreign students as they use the 5ahasa Melayu, the #ational
4anguage, as medium of instruction, e6cept at the post!graduate level, where there is more
fle6ibility. &TA., founded by the Malaysian Ihinese Association, a political party in the ruling
coalition, is also another e6ception on language policy, as it uses mainly nglish in its teaching.
2
'ee #. 7. Naa"ub O A.M. Ayob. J9igher ducation and 'ocioeconomic -evelopment in MalaysiaM A
9uman .esource -evelopment 3erspective.J 3aper presented at the A'A<94 'eminar on 4iberal Arts
ducation and 'ocio!economic -evelopment in the #e6t Ientury, held at 4ingnan Iollege, 9ong
&ong, 1*!1) May ())).
):
3
<n Auly ())?, a year after the economic crisis, the Ministry of ducation approved ten private
colleges to offer '/H+' twinning programs, by which students spend the entire / years in Malaysia to
complete a foreign degree and need not go overseas in their third year (Molly #.#. 4ee, ()))M ?().
Many more have now Coined the club and made this their selling point when trying to attract
students to enroll.
0"/ 'he Ma5or Alayers
8ho are the maCor players in the arena of private higher education> And how did they get
involved in international businessLeducation partnership for the delivery of training in the Asia!
3acific region> There are at least five categories of private higher educational institutions in
Malaysia, which reflect their owners, namelyM
(. The large corporations or organiKations closely lin"ed with the government (%niversiti
Te"nologi 3etronas, %niversiti Tenaga #asional (%#<T#), Tele"om Malaysia (now
Multimedia %niversity)G and &oleC <&.AM (formerly 38-'s training outfit)G
1. Those established by large corporations that are public listed companies (e.g. 'unway
Iollege of 'ungei 8ay Broup, &oleC Aman of Talam Iorporation 5hd.G &5% of the 7irst
#ationwide Broup, the 5andar %tama township developer)
/. Those established by political parties of the 5arisan #asional government (M<I's TA7
Iollege 'eremban, MIA's &oleC Tun"u Abdul .ahman, and %M#:'s %#<TA., etc)
;. <ndependent private colleges (including a broad range of them, from those that are
very well established, with e6cellent trac" records and international connections, to
those that are new to the business.)
2. 4ocal branches of foreign universities (Monash %niversity 'unway Iampus, Iurtin
%niversity of Technology 'arawa" Iampus, %niversity of #ottingham in Malaysia)
9ow did these organiKations Jget involvedJ in the higher education business> The primary
driving force behind these private colleges and universities appears to be the desire to provide
alternative avenues for higher education while earning JnormalJ profits from the venture
;
.
'ome private foundations go into this arena as not!for!profit organiKations to do charitable
wor", although not to the e6tent of providing subsidies to students (see Iase 'tudy). 'ome
large corporations may prefer to channel some of their profits into these Jeducation armsJ in
order to get ta6 brea"s
2
. 8hatever their motives are, all companies perhaps realiKe that there
is a gap to be narrowed in the higher education mar"et, where demand will e6ceed supply for
many years to come, ironically, as a result of the economic downturn of ())*. Moreover, the
local public universities have not been able to absorb all qualified applicants. 7irstly, it is
because of the limited number of places. 'econdly, there is the quota system based on ethnic
group!namely, 22M;2 ratio Jin favourJ of bumiputras (indigenous people). There is no such, or
any, quota in private education, even though it is a regulated industry in other ways.
9ence, there is not only an increased demand for higher education per se, but there is still a
high demand for foreign degrees, reflecting Malaysia's high propensity to import. And because
*9
of the much higher tuition fees charged to earn these foreign degrees abroad, the obvious
alternative is to set up branches of foreign universities in Malaysia. The ())= Act enables this
arrangement to be put in place between the foreign universities and their local partners.
'tudents save enormously by attending these branch campuses in Malaysia.
'ome former educators are also involved in the setting up of private colleges. 9aving
something to do after compulsory retirement at the JtenderJ age of 22 is important to people's
self!esteem. 8ith improved life e6pectancy, more elderly Malaysians continue to wor" beyond
22, some even into the seventies. The running of private colleges "eeps former academics
gainfully employed and preserves the 'life styles' which they have been used to for a bit
longer. 'ome senior academics even ta"e early retirement to go into private higher education
as I:'s.
The large corporations involved in private education are technologically based companies.
Their first motive in establishing a university is perhaps to train their own engineers and
technologists. <n the past they (e.g. 3etronas ! the #ational :il company, and Tenaga
#asional, the electricity corporation) have been sending students overseas on their
scholarships. 8ith the devalued currency, it became too costly to continue the practice. 9ence
the decision to venture into the tertiary education business to train their own engineers and
others.
3olitical parties (especially ethnic!based ones such MIA and M<I) decided to open colleges
because places in the public universities were rather limited for students of their respective
ethnic groups due to the quota system they, as ruling coalition partners, had agreed to in
parliament. 8ith the opening up of hundreds of private colleges by independent companies,
the non!bumiputras (and mainly middle!class bumiputras) now have unlimited opportunities to
enroll in a college of their choice, provided they have the money
=
.

4
-atu" M.'. Tan of Metropolitan Iollege believes that purely ma"ing money in private college will
not wor", and having a good reputation and programmes are equally important to ensure business
success. Taylor's Iollege president, &hoo 'oo 3eng, opines that there must be reinvestment of
JsurplusJ ! which means less dividends for shareholders, reinforcing the notion that profit is not the
primary motive in the private higher education business (The 'tar, August (+, ()))).
5
The 'tar (May /+, ()))), reports that private colleges could now claim double ta6 deductions for
promoting Malaysian education abroad with the gaKetting of the provision in 3arliament recently.
The law was passed in the ())= budget but gaKetted only recently in an attempt to bring in much
needed foreign e6change.
6
The Malaysian government, via the #ational 9igher ducation 7und Iorporation, now provides
educational loans to enable all qualified citiKens to enter the universities, and this provision includes
*1
private colleges and universities. The 'tar (:ctober ), ()))) reported that =;,(12 applications were
received by the #97I, of which ?+@ were approved. To qualify, parents' combined annual income
must not e6ceed .M/+,+++.
;"/ (ome Economics o- Higher Education
8hat are the implications of private sector involvement on the supply of and demand for
higher education in Malaysia, and on its quality> This question compels us to loo" at the
economics of private higher education. 8ith such a large number of private colleges in the
mar"et (about =++), one is tempted to conclude that private higher education must be a
lucrative business. :therwise how can it attract so many new entrants>
According to many sources, the conclusion is erroneous
*
. Iompared to other services (e.g.
ban"ing, finance, insurance), the business of private higher education brings only modest
returns to investment. At least this is what people in this line of business are insisting. A case
study of a small not!for!profit private educational institution is given in the 5o6 at the end of
the paper (Iase 'tudy).
They say that after paying for salary of lecturers and administrative staff, rental of premises
(in the case of small!time players) and utilities, only a small surplus remains which can be
called profit in the commercial sense. .emember that companies have to set aside a few
thousand ringgits to acquire government permits to conduct their programmes!one permit for
each degree or diploma programme. Moreover, each branch campus is treated differentlyG and
separate permits are required. Then there is the accreditation fee to be paid to 4A#
?
. These
high overhead costs are a deterrent to small!time 'edupreneurs.' <t is not free for all, with high
costs of entry. 9ence, most players do not go into higher education solely for the profit it
brings. %nli"e in manufacturing, the higher education industry is highly regulated. 7or
e6ample, changes in student fees must first be approved by the Ministry of ducation. The
government encourages mergers of the smaller colleges in order to gain economies of scale.
9owever, report of mergers in the industry is rareG perhaps most private colleges value their
independence and have carved a special niche in the mar"et.
The demand for private higher education in Malaysia will continue to rise. This will be due to
rising population of high school graduates, rising income of parents, and rising costs of
providing public higher education. :n the supply side, the government envisaged that there
will be (1+,+++ places for degree and diploma courses offered by the private sector. :f these,
(*,+++ ((;@) will be 'reserved' for foreign students
)
. 4ee (()))M )*) reports that, in ())?,
there were already ((,*// foreign students studying in the current (1 private universities in
Malaysia, compared to only 2,=/2 in ())=. These students come from neighboring countries
that have been adversely affected by the economic crisis.
3rivate colleges provide alternatives to parents to choose from. %rban middle!class parents,
being better endowed financially, have the widest choice possible. 3ublic universities tend to
have very high entrance requirements (but charge low tuition fees) compared to the average
*2
private colleges that admit students into their diploma programmes. %pon completion of their
diplomas, the students can proceed to the degree JtwinningJ programmes in collaboration with
foreign universities
(+
. 7inally, these students will be graduating with foreign degrees without
having to leave the country. 5esides the relatively lower tuition fees in Malaysia, this
possibility of proceeding to the degree course is a Jselling pointJ for most private colleges
wishing to attract students from the Asia 3acific region.
8hat is the relative tuition cost of private tertiary education compared to a public one> A
three!year undergraduate programme at one of the public universities costs about .M(,;++
per year in tuition fees (which is (/@ of the actual cost)
((
whereas it costs about .M/+,+++ to
complete a ;!year <T degree at the %#<TA.
(1
, from .M?,+++ to .M(/,+++ per year for an
engineering degree at Multimedia %niversity (The 'tar, Auly (?, ()))) and .M(1,+++ at the
%#<T# (e!mail comm.). :ne can e6pect to pay much more to study for a Monash degree at
its 'unway campus
(/
. <f a student were to study in the %'A (e.g. 55A at :hio %.), heLshe will
have to for" out about .M/2,+++ per year in tuition fees alone. <f one includes all living
e6penses, boo"s and supplies, the average cost of programmes per annum in the Midwestern
%'A is %'-(2,+++ (.M2*,+++) (The 'tar, Auly ;, ()))). All these go to show the e6tent of
subsidiKation (?*@)
(;
at Malaysian public universities. 7ollowing corporatiKation, Pice
Ihancellors in Malaysia have been directed by the ducation Ministry not to increase tuition
fees to local students, as the government has promised the general public that tuition fees
remain unchanged after corporatiKation.
8ith so many private colleges around, who underta"es quality control of private higher
education in Malaysia> This question ta"es greater significance as the number of programmes
increases. <n ())* the Malaysian government established a #ational Accreditation 5oard (or
4A# by its Malaysian acronym) to accredit (and eventually give ran"ing to) all institutions of
higher earning (private and public)
(2
. The wor" of this board seems to be enormous as they
have to scrutiniKe every curriculum that needs to be accredited
(=
. At the moment, this
requirement is not compulsoryG but before a college can run a course, it must first meet
Jminimum standardsJ set by 4A#. The standard fee for a certificate programme is .M2,+++,
for a diploma programme the fee is .M=,+++, while for a degree programme, 4A# charges
.M*,+++. <n addition, these private colleges have also to pay accreditation fee to 4A# which is
the second stage of the quality control process. This accreditation is mandatory if a private
college is to admit international students. 5y getting accreditation, a private college enables
its students to apply for loans from the #ational 9igher ducation 7und Iorporation
(*
.
9owever, many doubt if these middle!class students need this loan in the first place. <n the
second place, they do not qualify based on parents' combined income not e6ceeding
.M/+,+++. Another advantage of getting accreditation, as mentioned by the Ministry of
ducation, is that graduates from these private colleges may see" employment with the
government sector. Again, many will argue how many of these graduates want to enter
government service, as the trend points otherwise> 7or colleges that run foreign degrees or
diplomas, even though quality control is already underta"en by their foreign partners, the
Minister still requires 4A# to ta"e a second loo", which has caused some dissatisfaction among
*)
the private colleges (The 'tar, 2L)L()))). 7or foreign universities that are already
JrecogniKedJ by the Malaysian 3ublic 'ervices -ept. (3'-), accreditation by 4A# would seem
to be superfluous for entry into the civil service. Thus, there appears to be some immediate
streamlining of policies in this area, at least to give the correct impression that the authorities
are not overKealous in the quality control domain.
(?

Quality of higher education is also tied to the quality of the teaching staff. 8ithout
e6ception, lecturers in public universities must possess, as a minimum, a master's degree
before they can be recruited. Many of them have doctoral degrees. Their Cob is not only to
teach, but also to do research and engage in consultancies. Their research e6posure enhances
their credibility as university lecturers. 3romotion to higher levels in their career depends on
their research and publications. This is where public universities differ from the private
colleges. Most lecturers in the smaller colleges have only a first degree. This is deemed
sufficient if they only prepare students for diploma courses. <f these colleges conduct twinning
programmes with foreign universities, then their foreign partner may send their better
qualified lecturers and professors to teach. The main function of a lecturer in private colleges
is teaching. .esearch is an e6pensive underta"ing, which may not bring in any immediate
returns. Benerally, private colleges will not be willing to spend money on research in the
academic disciplines that they teach. This activity increases cost and reduces profit.
:ne stri"ing feature of the private higher education business is the aggressive advertising
underta"en by the industry's big leagues. This practice is consistent with the economic model
of monopolistic competition where a large number of firms are selling differentiated products.
<n this case, a product may be a degree in electronics engineering or computer science, but it
is offered by different colleges JtwinningJ with different foreign partners. Advertising is a sign
of the Jstiff competitionJ among the playersG it is the opposite of the Jperfect competitionJ of
economics te6tboo"s, where advertising is unnecessary. <n their advertisements, the colleges
will try to draw the attention of the audience to the strength of their foreign partners, such as
their ran"ings or their being accredited by such and such a body overseas. Most
advertisements appear in the printed nglish language media
()
. 7or e6ample, one ad saysM J<f
you can't go to %49 and Murdoch, they will come to you.J A &-% ad says the college wants to
Jma"e you somebody.J <t also claims (perhaps rightly) that it is a pioneer in American
university transfer programme. &oleC &omuniti MertaCam boasts that it is the first government
approved private college in 3enang. .<MA Iollege in 3enang capitaliKes on the fact that they
are offering Ja part!time American degree for busy people.J 'ilicon <nstitute of Technology
proudly promises to offer an 9onours degree in engineering and computing in three years
after the '3M
1+
. 943 <nstitute says that theirs is Jmore than Cust a degree!it's an American
e6perience.J Taylor's Iollege, which is twinning with, among others, 'heffield university,
warns that it's not easy to be top engineers and financiers!you have to be prepared for a
tough life as an engineering student on its campus.
7
According to -atu" Teo Ihiang 4iang, 'ec!Ben of Malaysian Association of 3rivate Iolleges
(MA3I:), JThe industry is a very tough oneR.Iolleges are not ma"ing the "ind of money that
**
people are thin"ingR.The Iollege cannot e6pect to ma"e profit for at least five to si6 years. As such,
the bac"ing of a big corporation is essential. :ne must have the financial stamina to operate on a
big scale and this is how a private college should operate.J (The 'tar, August (=, ()))).
8
According to one claim, private colleges will have to pay between .M*+,+++!.M( million in
accreditation fees depending on the number of courses a college offers per campus operated. <f a
college has three campuses, it pays three time (ibid.)
9
Midterm .eview of 'eventh Malaysia 3lan ())=!1+++ (pg. (/; ! 5ahasa version).
10
As a matter of interest, the host of this seminar (Auc"land <nstitute of Technology) has twinning
programmes with several Malaysian private colleges (e.g. 4im"o"wing <nstitute of Ireative
Technology and <AIT.) <t even holds its graduation ceremonies in &uala 4umpur, li"e many others
have been doing recently.
11
-ata provided by %niversiti %tara Malaysia, .egistrar's office.
12
'ee 'tudy in Malaysia 9andboo". (()))). Ihallenger Ioncept (M) 'dn. 5hd. 7irst <nternational
dition.
13
Their 8eb site (httpMLLwww.musm.edu.my) reports tuition fees for 5achelor of 5usiness O <T as
.M(?,2++ for first year, .M(),2++ second year, and .M1+,2++ final year. (%'- (.++ 0 .M/.?)
14
5ased on the three!year degree in <T at %niversiti %tara Malaysia.
15
'ee 'eventh Malaysia 3lan ())=!1+++ (pg. //*). As for the public universities, The 'tar ('ept.
/+, ()))) reports that the ducation Ministry will start to give official rating to all engineering,
business management and <T courses beginning 7ebruary 1+++. .ating, which has begun on
'eptember /+, ())), will be based on the institution's strength in teaching staff, facilities,
curriculum quality, administrative efficiency, and student feedbac".
(=
8hat will probably happen is that the 5oard will have a multiplicity of panels of specialists from
various fields to scrutiniKe the curricula in their own fields proposed by the hundreds of these
private colleges. 'ee #. 7. Naa"ub O A.M. Ayob. 3rivatiKation of 9igher ducation in Malaysia and <ts
<mplications for <ndustrialiKation. 3aper presented at the 'i6th Tun Abdul .aKa" Ionference, :hio
%niversity, (?!1+ April ())*. According to the I: of 4A#, Jhe panels will comprise academic staff
of other higher institutions and retired academicsJ (The 'tar, 'ept. /+, ()))).
17
The 'tar, 'eptember 2, ())).
18
The fact that the accreditation fees have been halved recently (The 'tar, 2L)L))), after appeals
from private colleges, shows that policies need to be based on sound research, as costs of private
higher education must not be too high as a result of government fees. :therwise, the incentive for
the business sector to promote higher education will be lost.
19
<t appears to us that The 'tar newspaper has the most advertisements on private higher
education institutions in Malaysia, being the most widely read nglish language newspaper in the
country. The newspaper also runs education feature articles regularly. The ads that follow were all
ta"en from recent issues of The 'tar newspaper.
20
<t is advertisements such as this that the ())= Act tries to regulate. Article *2 statesM Any person
who ma"es a false or misleading statement in promoting a private higher educational institution
shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not e6ceeding .M2+,+++ or
to imprisonment for a term not e6ceeding si6 months or to both. Three years after '3M (eleven
years of schooling) is indeed a short!cut way to a degree. The Ministry of ducation has recently
determined that / S years is the bare minimum. 'ome colleges aren't too happy about the new
directive. (The 'tar, August 1), ()))).
The Malaysian Context
The state has e6panded its role from being a provider and protector to include
regulating and steering functions. %ntil the ()?+s, the Malaysian government was
the main provider of higher education. The government provides complete funding to
all public institutions of higher learning through budget allocations as well as lump!
sum funding for development and capital e6penditures. As consumer advocate, the
government "ept tuition fees low by heavily subsidiKing all public institutions.
7urthermore, the government offers scholarships and loans to low!income students.
To promote social equity, the government has also implemented an ethnic quota
system for student admissions to ensure that the ethnic composition of the student
body in public institutions reflects that in the general population. This admission
policy is aimed at promoting social mobility through higher education, especially for
the Malays who are recogniKed as the disadvantaged group in the country.
*4
'tudent enrollments at the tertiary level have risen dramatically in the past decade.
<n 1+++, the participation rate of students in higher education stands at ().= percent
or an estimated total enrollment of ;2+,+++. About /+ percent of the development
budget of the Ministry of ducation is spent on higher education. The ministry faced
with tight budgetary constraints in meeting the ever!increasing demand for higher
education. The state has to relinquish its role as the main provider of higher
education by encouraging public institutions to see" revenue elsewhere and by
pressing the private sector to set up independent higher education institutions.
<n ())?, five public universities were given greater institutional autonomy to
generate revenue through research contracts, consulting, business ventures with
industry, and other forms of investment. The increase in institutional autonomy
encompasses financial management, competitive remuneration of academic staff,
and adopting strategies to increase efficiency and improve quality. To cover some of
their operating costs, some of these universities have increased tuition fees at the
graduate level.
An Expanded State Role
3rivate higher education has e6panded tremendously in the last two decades. The
state plays a strong regulatory role vis!,!vis private higher education. <n ())=, the
3rivate 9igher ducational <nstitutions Act was passed, which defines the
governmentTs regulatory control powers over all private education institutions in the
country. Approval must be obtained from the Ministry of ducation to establish a
private institution or introduce new programs. <n ())*, the #ational Accreditation
5oard was created to formulate policies on standards and quality control as well as
accreditating the certificates, diplomas, and degrees awarded by private institutions.
The state has attempted to give higher education a Malaysian identity. All private
institutions must conduct their courses in the national language. To teach a course in
nglish they must obtain permission from the minister of education. <n addition, all
institutions must offer required courses in Malaysian studies, <slamic studies (for
Muslim students), and moral education (for non!Muslim students). These courses are
aimed at transmitting cultural heritage and national identity to the students,
including foreign students who are also required to ta"e courses on the national
language.
<n ())=, the government established the #ational Iouncil on 9igher ducation,
whose main function is to plan, formulate, and determine national policies and
strategies and oversee both the public and private sectors, so as to ensure better
coordination of the country's higher education system. The government would li"e
the private sector to complement and supplement the efforts of the public sector and
has sought to steer the private sector toward providing more vocational and
technical education.
Thus, there has been a gradual shift from state control toward state supervision in
the relationship between the Malaysian government and higher education. <n the
state control model, the Ministry of ducation regulates access conditions, the
curriculum, degree requirements, e6amination systems, the appointment and
remuneration of staff, the selection and admissions of students, and other
administrative matters. Ionversely, in the state supervisory model universities are
responsible for their own management and generation of their own revenues. <n this
model, the state oversees the higher education system in terms of assuring quality
*!
and maintaining a certain level of accountability. 8ith the corporatiKation and
privatiKation of higher education in Malaysia, the shift is from central state control to
mar"et!based policies, which will increase the range of choices for students and
address the needs of an increasingly comple6 social order. 9owever, the Malaysian
state will still maintain a central steering role to ensure equity access, consumer
advocacy, and national identity, which are broader social and cultural goals that
transcend the mar"et.
*+