33 higher learning institutions closed down this year
KUALA LUMPUR: The Higher Education Ministry closed down 33 private higher learning institutions this year.
Its minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said the reasons included failure to comply with requirements under the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 (Act 555), financial problems, lack of students, insufficient lecturers and expired registrations.
“Any institution that does not comply with the requirements we set will be closed down.
“We cannot jeopardise the quality of education,” he told reporters after the Malaysian Quality Evaluation System for Private Colleges (MyQuest) 2016/2017 ratings ceremony here yesterday.
Idris said the ministry ordered 46 private colleges shut down from 2012 to last year.
The Act was amended in September and enforced on Nov 28, allowing the ministry to closely monitor the institutions, which are required to be more transparent.
Malaysian Association of Private Colleges and Universities president Datuk Dr Parmjit Singh commended the closures, saying it was the right thing to do.
He said action had to be taken against institutions that failed to meet standards. “Or the good name of other institutions will be affected.”
Dr Parmjit said there was a possibility that some of the 33 colleges were not operating at all, despite having a licence.
“You can’t sit on a licence and not operate. It is a breach of regulations,” he said.
“There are far too many private institutions in the first place. When there is overcapacity, the lesser ones tend to become unethical in order to survive.”
Describing the closures as a “balancing act”, he said the ministry was doing well in improving the sector by heightening enforcement.
MyQuest, implemented in 2011, is a biennial evaluation developed and conducted by the ministry to assess overall excellence among private institutions of higher learning.
Under the amended Act, it is now compulsory for all registered institutions in the country to submit detailed data – including their statistics of lecturers and students, resources, quality management system, programme recognition and graduate recognition – to the ministry.