Malaysian varsity students read only 4 books a year
KUALA LUMPUR: Reading habits among Malaysian students and lecturers are low compared with neighbouring countries.
Education director-general Tan Sri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof said a research done by Universiti Malaya lecturer Dr Abu Hassan Hasbullah showed that one undergraduate student read an average of only four books a year.
“This situation was no different among lecturers as the research showed that they read only 20 books in a span of three years. The disparity is large if compared with neighbouring countries.”
He said this in a speech read by his deputy, Datuk Dr Amin Senin.
The average number of books read (a year) by students from Australia, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Brunei were 180, 130, 94, 56 and 26 respectively.
He said the same research was done in 2005, and showed that among the 600 higher education institutions in Malaysia, only 6.4 per cent had published books.
“This research was done in 2005. I hope now, after 12 years, this number has increased.
“This year, I hope the average number of books read by Malaysian students would increase to at least 36 books per year.”
He said this at a book fair organised by teacher training institutions, which served as a platform for lecturers and students to share information and knowledge on book writing and publishing.