Universiti Johor needs to offer something different, says Education experts
KUALA LUMPUR: The idea of establishing Universiti Johor should be in line with the need and the requirement of the education industry while producing high- quality and employable graduates, said education expects.
They also suggested that Universiti Johor should offer a deviation from other public and private universities in the country as well as overcoming the issue of getting jobs in accordance with the programme chosen by the graduates.
A senior lecturer from the Faculty of Human Ecology Universiti Putra Malaysia ( UPM) Prof Zaid Ahmad said the idea to add another university into the country’s education industry is very good but it has to consider the current needs.
“If the university is to be set up, it would be known as a new university, without background although it could contribute a good deal to the state of Johor and Malaysia in general. Thus, its role has to be considered in greater depth.
“The problem now is unemployment among graduates. Perhaps the university management could first look into the programmes offered at other universities and look at the need to change or improve the programme to avoid unemployment.
“Our country is at the development stage, so we cannot not avoid the fact that the country needs advancement in education to be in line or at the same level as other developed countries. Indirectly, this could improve the intellectual capabilities of the people,” he told Bernama.
He was commenting on the establishment of the Universiti Johor which would adopt the concept of cooperation between university, industry, government and community and has received the consent of the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.
Johor education and religious committee chairman Aminolhuda Hassan said several advisory panels and secretariat committees had been set up since early June to enable studies and initiatives on establishing the state university.
The concept of the university would be based on the national policy on higher education combined with the needs to meet the demands of rapid development, focusing on areas in the districts and to prevent youth migrations from the districts.
Universiti Johor will introduce the Quadruple Helix concept, where each graduate will go through the competency- based education system to ensure they meet the requirements of the industry, nation and community.
The state government is committed toward realising Universiti Johor and to ensure the impact of a widespread benefit for the people and government as stated in the five-year plan of Pakatan Harapan’s manifesto.
Meanwhile, the former directorgeneral of Education Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said the existence of more universities would give more options for the students to pursue higher education.
“We welcome the development of higher education as it would facilitate students to further their studies. While there are many public and private institutions of higher learning ( IPT), the need for access to higher education is ever increasing.
“Furthermore, there are some universities that are focussing on certain aspects such as technical and skill programs to be in line with the need of the industry,” he added.
Hence, he said, establishing another state-level university would indirectly help students to gain access to higher education and to compete in the increasingly complex market of employment.
He believed that the graduates from Universiti Johor would not be unemployed if the programmes offered were suitable to the needs of the current industry such as in the skill- related fields and entrepreneurship.
Meanwhile, a senior lecturer from the Political Sciences Programme Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Dr Muhamad Nadzri Mohamed Noor said the establishment of Universiti Johor would evaluate the progress in terms of education in the state just like the existence of state-level universities in other states at present.
“Perhaps the idea of the establishment is to uphold the identity of Johor and to spark the spirit of nationalism besides contributing to the progress of the country’s education sector.
“However it also needs to be planned and reviewed thoroughly in terms of policy and financial impact as it is still new to the education sector,” he added. — Bernama