MORE FUNDS WILL ATTRACT MORE TALENT

Bigger budget will see continuous development of those in education sector

PUBLIC universities will attract the cream of the crop if more money is pumped into the sector. National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Harry Tan said more allocation for public universities would mean better quality teachers and ultimately, higher standards of instructions in schools.

He said a larger budget for the Education and Higher Education Ministries would see to continuous professional development of those in the field.

“With the move to implementing the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages grading scheme next year, we would like to see both ministries train more teachers, who opt to teach English as well as provide for those who opt not to do so,” Tan told the New Straits Times.

He expressed hope for an increased allocation for both ministries in the 2018 Budget.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Vice-Chancellor Datin Paduka Aini Ideris said any move to increase the budget would boost efforts by the universities to remain focused and work to achieve targets set by the government.

She said a bigger budget would help UPM further its academic research programmes which required much resource.

“The high cost of developing research infrastructure, which is vital for research universities, poses a great challenge in providing physical facilities, as well as fulfilling human resource requirements.”

She said enrolment of postgraduate students were imperative for research-intensive universities to retain their brand.

“The ability to attract and retain high-calibre, excellent students in the competitive higher education environment is also relevant in driving global research agendas,” she said.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak tweeted on Wednesday that the government remained committed to producing competitive graduates with RM7.4 billion allocated to 20 public universities this year.

He had also asked the public to tune in to his #Budget2018 speech on Oct 27.

Aini said the statement by Najib showed that the government cared and remained committed, even when faced with financial constraints.