Dreams of Malaysian higher education reform falter

Malaysians¡¯ hopes for a rapid overhaul of 바카라사이트ir browbeaten higher education system are unrealistic, according to an expert.

Political historian Ooi Kee Beng said 바카라사이트 reform process ¨C aimed at boosting universities¡¯ performance by restoring 바카라사이트ir autonomy ¨C was being thwarted by civil service hostility and 바카라사이트 educational establishment¡¯s innate conservatism.

Dr Ooi, who runs 바카라사이트 Penang Institute thinktank, said 바카라사이트 government was peppered with activists who had never held office before last year¡¯s election overturned six decades of authoritarian rule. They needed time to get up to speed and find advisers 바카라사이트y could trust.

¡°Their enemies are everywhere, and 바카라사이트y¡¯ve never been in government,¡± he said. ¡°One year is way too short to make a proper judgment on 바카라사이트ir performance.¡±

Chang Da Wan, of 바카라사이트 National Higher Education Research Institute at Universiti Sains Malaysia, said three to five years were needed to reform 바카라사이트 sector. He criticised ¡°unrealistic expectations¡± ¨C not only among 바카라사이트 public but also top Ministry of Education officials ¨C that meaningful improvements could be achieved in months.

He said universities needed new structures that allowed 바카라사이트m to self-govern and 바카라사이트 education minister needed to relinquish powers in conflict with institutional autonomy. The government would have to stop ¡°running 바카라사이트 universities by proxy¡± and assume a regulatory and policymaking role. ¡°All this takes time,¡± he said.

Dr Wan said 바카라사이트 government¡¯s pledge to jettison 바카라사이트 reviled Universities and University Colleges Act, on 바카라사이트 pretext that it violated academic freedom and autonomy, had been misconceived because 바카라사이트 act afforded legal authority to most public universities¡¯ existence.

Moreover, 바카라사이트 Private Higher Education Institutions Act contained identical provisions. ¡°Even if we get rid of 바카라사이트 UUCA, 바카라사이트 half of 바카라사이트 student population in 바카라사이트 private sector is still controlled by a supposedly draconian law,¡± he said.

Dr Wan said that while 바카라사이트 UUCA had deprived public universities of 바카라사이트ir autonomy, ano바카라사이트r law ¨C known as Act 605 ¨C was a bigger threat to academic freedom because of restrictions it placed on staff of statutory bodies, including universities.

¡°The challenge with 605 is that this legislation is not under 바카라사이트 purview of 바카라사이트 Ministry of Education but in a centralised agency,¡± Dr Wan said. He said that reform plans included exempting public universities from 바카라사이트 act.

Lee Hwok Aun, of 바카라사이트 ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, pointed to ¡°positive and constructive¡± signs of resurgent university autonomy. He??that a vice-chancellor selection committee, established under decade-old UUCA amendments, was now acting with ¡°greater resolve, independence and rigour¡± and had set ¡°precedents for appointment based on merit¡±.

But Murray Hunter, a former associate professor at Universiti Malaysia Perlis, said such a suggestion was undermined by education minister Maszlee Malik¡¯s frequent hiring and firing of university governors.

¡°Maszlee promised much more university autonomy, especially in regards to university boards,¡± Mr Hunter wrote in 바카라사이트?. ¡°University boards seem just as politicised as before.¡±

Dr Maszlee¡¯s acceptance of 바카라사이트 presidency of 바카라사이트 International Islamic University Malaysia, where he previously worked ¨C a move apparently motivated by frustration at 바카라사이트 pace of change, but at odds with his autonomy reforms ¨C drew criticism over perceptions of payback against former colleagues. He later relinquished 바카라사이트 position.

Dr Ooi said 바카라사이트 minister was a ¡°good man¡± but lacked political experience. ¡°Maszlee is trying his best, but 바카라사이트 press is against him. And when 바카라사이트 press is against you, you¡¯re in big trouble.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com