Ministry’s valuable assets
THE Higher Education Ministry makes it a point to treat all female staff as one of its most valuable assets.
Its minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said his ministry is always striving to enhance the roles of women at the ministry.
Even within the ministry, the Deputy Minister Datuk Dr Mary Yap Kain Ching, secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Noorul Ainur Mohd Nur, director-general Datin Paduka Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir, Higher Education Leadership Academy director Prof Datuk Dr Rohana Yusof and Malaysian Qualifications Agency chief executive officer Datuk Dr Rahmah Mohamed are all women.
“This shows that the ministry will always give women the priority,” he told reporters after attending the #MyWomenInHigherEducation dialogue last Tuesday.
The dialogue with Universiti Putra Malaysia students and staff was held in conjunction with International Women’s Day 2018.
Idris also said 707,888 females have enrolled in higher education institutions in 2017 compared to 640,978 in 2013.
Overall, 62% of the higher education student population are women, he added.
However, he pointed out that although there were more women enrolled in universities, the percentage of men in polytechnics and community colleges was higher.
This creates a balance between men and women pursuing their higher education, he added.
Idris also said more women were becoming self-employed with 49.4% of female graduates becoming “job-creators.”
He said female athletes who are still students are also making a name for themselves in the international arena such as tenpin bowling winners Natasha Roslan and Sin Li Jane who represented Malaysia in the 29th SEA Games.