Autonomy for UTM

First varsity in Malaysia to be granted full responsibility in four areas

JOHOR BARU: The Higher Education Ministry has granted Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) autonomy in four areas, making it the first in the country to receive the status.

Its minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said UTM was capable of handling its affairs independently in these areas.

“The ministry has also identified several other universities but I will only announce their names on Jan 26 (when he delivers his new year address),” he said.

Mohamed Khaled explained that with the autonomy, the university would now take full responsibility for institutional governance, academic governance, financial management and human resource management.

He was speaking to reporters after presenting endowment scholarships to 100 UTM undergraduates at the campus in Skudai here yesterday.

“UTM will also handle its student intake and will no longer have to go through the ministry’s Universities Admissions Unit (UPU),” he said.

He added that autonomy for UTM would take effect starting this year but the formal announcement would be made on Jan 26.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Khaled also urged university alumni to play a more active role in developing their respective universities.

“The alumni should not only limit their contributions to financial aid but other areas as well.

“For example, the alumni can help with establishing internship programmes or create business opportunities for students,” he said