Irregularity in research grants

“IRREGULARITY” is a diplomatic way of saying corruption. Choose whichever word you will, it does not make the act any less distasteful, and it is rampant in public universities.

From the perspective of a doctor who has been through the master’s (specialisation) programme in a local public university, there are some things I feel we need to talk about openly.

It is the aim and dream of many doctors to improve themselves by specialising in a field of choice but competition to gain admission in these post graduate programmes is ghastly.

Part of the curriculum in the local postgraduate programme requires a dissertation to be completed at the end of the four-year training scheme. This dissertation is done under the supervision of a team of senior educators (professors, associate professors, senior lecturers) and its intention is noble – to encourage critical thinking and nurture flexible minds.

But any form of research requires financial assistance. Depending on the topic being researched, certain materials like consumables (items which are disposed after use) need to be bought. Other times, more expensive software or hardware is needed and patients who participate in the research also need to be reimbursed for their time, patience and willingness.

The final results (of which four copies are required at the time of submission) need to be copied and bound professionally, often with numerous pictures and other complicated graphics. This is also an expensive affair.

The universities have set aside grants to help postgraduate students gain access to financial support to obtain the necessary materials or equipment.

Universities provide two types of grants for postgraduate students. A small grant (not exceeding RM5,000) may be issued to a deserving candidate directly. For larger figures, the grant must be issued through the student’s supervisor. Professors, associate professors and senior lecturers are allocated certain amounts each, depending on their seniority.

Grant allocations can go up to RM100,000 for each professor. Money will be retrieved from the approved grant accounts by presenting legitimate receipts. Any excess money after the research project is completed is returned to the university.

Postgraduate students who depend on their supervisors often do not see much money channelled to them for the items they need. Each grant allocation/account has a username and password through which it is accessed. Although students are allowed joint access to the accounts along with their supervisors, most supervisors withhold the information and other account activity from their students.

To compensate for the lack of financial aid, students try to do research by cutting corners, which often means compromising on the quality of their work.

Since most supervisors are absent throughout the research process, students are left groping in the dark. Supervisors “re-emerge” at the end of the research project to claim credit for their roles and oversee the preparation of several articles out of each dissertation for publication. The number and value of each published article contribute to the KPI (key performance index) of each supervisor and is important for better job prospects at the university.

This vicious cycle repeats itself the following year with the next batch of postgraduate students.

Applications for grants require a list of the expected expenditure. Apart from the necessary material, supervisors are known to add items such high-end personal computers and advanced software even though these may not be needed. It is not uncommon for students to see these costly computers on the desk of their supervisors.

So while there is very limited or sometimes no financial aid to produce better work, there apparently is enough money for a 21” or 27” iMac, which is used to do the same thing as an Hewlett Packard desktop, pertly sitting on a supervisor’s desk.

In the spirit of Malaysia Baharu and the new vision we have before us, I feel encouraged to speak out about this. DR A Seremban