KEY BARRIERS TO HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATION

A critique of the Malaysian higher education landscape was made claiming that phrases such as “education hub”, “innovation hub” and “knowledge economy” do not walk the talk.

The poor quality of academicians and a reward incentive system that discourages them from delivering high-quality teaching and research, are among the main factors.

Besides that, Marcandan said, merit was seldom used for recruitment, selection, continuing professional development, remuneration and rewards or career progression of staff.

“In addition, rewards and recognitions are based on disciplinary research, which is unrelated to the quality of teaching or learning.”

He added that poor government management of public education institutions was also a factor.

“In particular, excessive government control over their activities, such as lack of autonomy, merit in selection of staff and political interference, contribute to a lack of ability to transform.”

Malaysian universities need to make their presence felt and create impact in relation to the benefit of the community.

A John Hopkins University study this year stated that higher education institutions should put the philosophy back into the Doctor of Philosophy.

Based on the study, multi-disciplinary collaboration was vital as most doctoral curricula aimed to produce narrowly-focused researchers rather than critical thinkers.

“Most PhD curricula are unlikely to nurture big thinkers and creative problem-solvers that society needs. They are not viewing their work through the lens of social responsibility. They are unable to apply theoretical knowledge in statistical tests in laboratories. They make frequent mistakes in choosing an appropriate set of experimental controls and have difficulty in explaining work to non-experts.”

Education is the most potent weapon to alleviate poverty, as well as reducing crime and other social ills.