Overqualified or underqualified?
various other academicians.
If the standard of our higher education institutions continues to decline over time, can we still justify calling them “higher” education institutions?
While it affects the quality of our graduates, the quality of education provided by HEIs is not the only issue. The quality of new intakes is also a significant factor to be considered.
During a recent parliamentary meeting, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek stated that over 400,000 students in primary and secondary schools have learning problems. Additionally, she said that 154,853 secondary school students have yet to master fundamental skills in reading, writing and counting.
Furthermore, an earlier report has shown that Malaysia’s performance in Pisa 2022, which evaluates 15-year-old students’ reading literacy, mathematics and scientific literacy, has dropped.
One cannot help but ponder how many of these students will ultimately enrol in HEIs, potentially displacing those who are genuinely capable but face barriers such as financial constraints or lack of recognition based on merit.
Additionally, the matriculation programme has also been under fire for a long time as a “backdoor” method to help low-performing students enter local public universities and as a way for students to take the easy way into HEIs.
Two key issues emerge here: Our primary and secondary education systems have not adequately equipped students for tertiary education, and at the same time, the entry standards for tertiary education in public and private institutions have declined over the years due to the dynamics explained above. These factors have led to the ballooning of unemployment and underemployment, hence, the “overqualification” claim.
According to the report, our fresh graduates only scored six out of 10 in terms of career readiness, and many of them did not meet employers’ expectations due to skills gaps, English proficiency issues and difficulties in applying their knowledge in the workplace.
Some employers have unrealistic expectations of fresh graduates, and it is also true that there are outstanding graduates who exceed these standards and are capable of great achievements. However, due to various reasons, many talented Malaysians have chosen to seek better opportunities abroad.
In an attempt to close the gap between the supply of graduates and the demand for jobs, some HEIs have decided to discontinue some courses that do not match the current job market dynamics.
However, does this gap stem solely from differences in courses and job markets or is it primarily attributable to the massive brain drain issue we are facing?
Over the years, our Critical Occupation List has consistently featured jobs related to engineering and information communications technology, indicating that these positions remain challenging to fill.
Yet, according to HEM, our HEIs have consistently produced over 30,000 graduates from the fields of science, mathematics and computer science, and over 60,000 graduates from engineering, manufacturing and construction fields, with the only exception being 2020 due to Covid-19.
While the “graduates” here encompass PhD and Master’s students and make no distinction between those intending to pursue further studies and those seeking immediate employment, it draws parallels with our medical field, where we have too many medical students. Yet, Malaysia faces a shortage of medical practitioners.
We have to start focusing on the problem and make credible changes. We need to shift our focus from quantity to quality. This does not mean advocating for the crackdown on PHEIs but rather implementing a moratorium on new institutions, similar to what was done in 2013.
At the same time, MQA should consider shortening the time frame between audits from once every five years to at least once every three years. This is necessary to ensure that PHEIs maintain the standard of providing high-quality education to students and to safeguard their interests. The current five-year timeframe is no longer suitable, given the super-high-velocity changes in the global techno-social landscape.
It is strongly recommended that MQA also periodically review the accreditation criteria to keep up with current developments and technological advancements while continuing to improve the quality of education.
The education system, encompassing primary, secondary, and tertiary levels, should be completely reformed to better align with global education best practices/trends. Such reform aims to cultivate better graduates who are equipped to partake in high-skilled jobs.
Education is the cornerstone of our society. With better quality education, the competitiveness of our graduates will improve, subsequently attracting direly needed high-value foreign investment and creating more opportunities for graduates in endless virtuous cycles.