New course to make grads bolder
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/12/nation/18283141&sec=nation
BANGI: Public university students are expected to have greater confidence when they graduate following the introduction of a new course in entrepreneurship.
Starting with the intake for the 2007/2008 academic year, all students will now be required to take the Basic Entrepreneurship Acculturation module.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said that one of the aims of this move was to expose students to the entrepreneurial culture.
“This will enhance their confidence and train them to be independent and bolder when going into their fields after they graduate,” he said yesterday after closing the Institutions of Higher Learning Student Representative Councils Convention 2007 and the launching of the module here.
I see now that the ministry is seriously tackling the problem of the unemployed / unemployable graduates in Malaysia! A good effort, I guess.
The compulsory module, which comprises both theory (25%) and practical (75%) components, will include project papers, internships, presentation skills and input from successful entrepreneurs.
It is a standalone course with a two-credit weight and students must take it at least a year before they graduate.
So far so good.
Mustapa said private institutions of higher learning were encouraged to adopt the module for their students.
Higher Education Management Department director-general Prof Datuk Dr Hassan Said said that students not affected by the requirement could also take the course as an elective, subject to the availability of places.
The module was prepared jointly by the ministry, public institutions of higher learning and the Malaysian University Student Entrepreneurship Council.
Oops. Here's where it starts to fall apart. For a course that is supposedly designed to help students get some first-hand experiential knowledge on entrepreneurship, it's highly suspect that the module does not involve the expertise of the many companies, corporations, businesses and real entrepreneurs. Instead, the main shareholders of this venture are *gasp* the ministry, the universities and a student council! If there are no inputs from real businesspersons with real gems and experience, I wonder what quality will this module impart to the students.
This just shows how poorly informed the bureaucrats at the higher education ministry really are. By shielding themselves from the actual situation at the ground level, they come up with half-baked initiatives that, while sounding good on paper, is probably highly unworkable due to the fact that key sectors' involvement is not sought after.
Can anyone say that this is another patch job? BLA BLA BLA!
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Abdullah: Varsities need to have well-rounded students
Abdullah: Varsities need to have well-rounded students
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/10/nation/18257000&sec=nation
BANGI: The Prime Minister wants public universities to have well-rounded students who are exposed to the outside world by having more attachment programmes with established universities overseas.
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said students could be attached to foreign university for one or two semesters with credit transfer arrangements to give them time to gain new experiences and knowledge while proceeding with their academic studies.
He said that while academicians were sent for attachment programmes, it was also a good idea to send their excellent students to take up relevant courses at foreign universities.
“This will expose them to a different situation and let them get first-hand experience.
“This will give something meaningful to the students, and the universities will also forge cooperation with foreign universities,” Abdullah said at the Institutions of Higher Learning Students Representative Council Convention 2007.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, who was also present, said the ministry was expanding the attachment programme, which was currently run on an ad hoc basis and with a small number of students.
“We are studying the capabilities of these universities, as it involves cost,” he said, adding that students who obtained double degrees from the foreign universities through the attachment programme were in high demand for jobs.
He said the ministry would heed Abdullah’s call and make the attachment programme a permanent feature, with preference given to excellent students.
Speaking at the opening of the convention, Abdullah also said that local public universities could no longer operate within their own campus walls but must keep pace with the changes that globalisation had brought.
Hence, it was imperative for them to forge cooperation with established universities overseas and the private sector to produce students of international standard, he said.
“Without providing such opportunities and introducing new courses such as biotechnology and nanotechnology that did not exist in the past, we will be denying our students such knowledge,” he said.
He said that going global was the only way for Malaysia to become an education hub.
“For R&D in particular, we will need cooperation and link-ups with foreign universities, including those more developed than us.
“Instead, we should think that because they are big we can learn from them and although we are small, there will be something they can learn from us,” he said.
Abdullah said the Government wanted to provide the best education infrastructure and hence, a large part of the annual budget had always been allocated for education.
I think the government is in a process of doublethink here. On one hand, they want to promote the country as a hub of educational excellence. On the other, they want to limit university freedom via repressive laws (UUCA) and centralized bureaucracy (ministry of higher education). With these roadblocks in place, no matter how many initiatives are started by the government, university students will never reach great heights. What is needed is a complete revamp of the education system and not ad-hoc patch jobs to layer the cake with more icing to make it more enticing to investors.
Ultimately, the government is looking for new ways to make money. Look at that last paragraph. So it's all about infrastructure and spending lots of cash to enrich the crony companies that will supply construction efforts, contracts for government projects and other services related to this so-called hub initiative.
The media seems to parrot perfectly the speech by the prime minister, but one wonders if there will ever be any analysis done to this piece?
BLA BLA BLA!
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/10/nation/18257000&sec=nation
BANGI: The Prime Minister wants public universities to have well-rounded students who are exposed to the outside world by having more attachment programmes with established universities overseas.
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said students could be attached to foreign university for one or two semesters with credit transfer arrangements to give them time to gain new experiences and knowledge while proceeding with their academic studies.
He said that while academicians were sent for attachment programmes, it was also a good idea to send their excellent students to take up relevant courses at foreign universities.
“This will expose them to a different situation and let them get first-hand experience.
“This will give something meaningful to the students, and the universities will also forge cooperation with foreign universities,” Abdullah said at the Institutions of Higher Learning Students Representative Council Convention 2007.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, who was also present, said the ministry was expanding the attachment programme, which was currently run on an ad hoc basis and with a small number of students.
“We are studying the capabilities of these universities, as it involves cost,” he said, adding that students who obtained double degrees from the foreign universities through the attachment programme were in high demand for jobs.
He said the ministry would heed Abdullah’s call and make the attachment programme a permanent feature, with preference given to excellent students.
Speaking at the opening of the convention, Abdullah also said that local public universities could no longer operate within their own campus walls but must keep pace with the changes that globalisation had brought.
Hence, it was imperative for them to forge cooperation with established universities overseas and the private sector to produce students of international standard, he said.
“Without providing such opportunities and introducing new courses such as biotechnology and nanotechnology that did not exist in the past, we will be denying our students such knowledge,” he said.
He said that going global was the only way for Malaysia to become an education hub.
“For R&D in particular, we will need cooperation and link-ups with foreign universities, including those more developed than us.
“Instead, we should think that because they are big we can learn from them and although we are small, there will be something they can learn from us,” he said.
Abdullah said the Government wanted to provide the best education infrastructure and hence, a large part of the annual budget had always been allocated for education.
I think the government is in a process of doublethink here. On one hand, they want to promote the country as a hub of educational excellence. On the other, they want to limit university freedom via repressive laws (UUCA) and centralized bureaucracy (ministry of higher education). With these roadblocks in place, no matter how many initiatives are started by the government, university students will never reach great heights. What is needed is a complete revamp of the education system and not ad-hoc patch jobs to layer the cake with more icing to make it more enticing to investors.
Ultimately, the government is looking for new ways to make money. Look at that last paragraph. So it's all about infrastructure and spending lots of cash to enrich the crony companies that will supply construction efforts, contracts for government projects and other services related to this so-called hub initiative.
The media seems to parrot perfectly the speech by the prime minister, but one wonders if there will ever be any analysis done to this piece?
BLA BLA BLA!
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
MCA Youth submits student name list
MCA Youth submits student name list
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/3/nation/18196681&sec=nation
KUALA LUMPUR: The MCA Youth has submitted a memorandum containing the names of 1,064 students who are appealing for a place in public universities to the Higher Education Ministry.
Its chief Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said the movement compiled the names after sifting through all the appeals received.
“Most of them did not even get their first or second choice while others did not even get any offer. We are confident that these cases will be given the necessary attention by the ministry,” he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby yesterday.
MCA Youth education chief Dr Wee Ka Siong said that 179 of those on the list were deserving students who scored extremely well and had full points for co-curriculum activities.
Sometimes I wonder if the Higher Education Ministry deliberately screws up the university placement exercise just so that political parties can show their political might and generate good vibes among the people? Otherwise, how do we explain the 1000 plus hopefuls who were denied university placements of their choice despite excellent academic and co-curricular achievements?
BLA BLA BLA!
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/7/3/nation/18196681&sec=nation
KUALA LUMPUR: The MCA Youth has submitted a memorandum containing the names of 1,064 students who are appealing for a place in public universities to the Higher Education Ministry.
Its chief Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said the movement compiled the names after sifting through all the appeals received.
“Most of them did not even get their first or second choice while others did not even get any offer. We are confident that these cases will be given the necessary attention by the ministry,” he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby yesterday.
MCA Youth education chief Dr Wee Ka Siong said that 179 of those on the list were deserving students who scored extremely well and had full points for co-curriculum activities.
Sometimes I wonder if the Higher Education Ministry deliberately screws up the university placement exercise just so that political parties can show their political might and generate good vibes among the people? Otherwise, how do we explain the 1000 plus hopefuls who were denied university placements of their choice despite excellent academic and co-curricular achievements?
BLA BLA BLA!
Friday, June 29, 2007
‘No’ to varsity change
‘No’ to varsity change
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/6/29/nation/18163106&sec=nation
NILAI: The Higher Education Ministry will not entertain appeals from students who want to change their university.
“We will only consider appeals from those who did not obtain a place or were offered courses which they had not listed in their application form,” minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said.
He added that students could not change the course they were given if it was among the eight choices listed in the form.
Clearly, the minister does not want to admit that the current system of centralized university placement is flawed. How can a top STPM scorer be denied his first choice, instead is delegated to his fourth or fifth choice? Surely the minister is aware that the reason why those choices are filled up is because of fear that the applicant may not be granted any university place at all if the first or second choices were denied!
Of the 68,110 applications for degree programmes offered by local public universities for the 2007/ 2008 academic year, only 40,116 students obtained places.
Does that mean that there are now 28,000 more places for degree programmes offered by local public universities? Care to elaborate if these places are among the first or second choices of the applicants? Mr. Minister?
Mustapa clarified that not all the applications met the minimum qualification of Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 2.0.
“We will consider appeals from those who qualify (but did not get a place),” he said...
In the first place, there should not be any case where anybody "qualify but did not get a place". This shows the inadequacy and inefficiency of the centralized Higher Education Ministry.
BLA BLA BLA!
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/6/29/nation/18163106&sec=nation
NILAI: The Higher Education Ministry will not entertain appeals from students who want to change their university.
“We will only consider appeals from those who did not obtain a place or were offered courses which they had not listed in their application form,” minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said.
He added that students could not change the course they were given if it was among the eight choices listed in the form.
Clearly, the minister does not want to admit that the current system of centralized university placement is flawed. How can a top STPM scorer be denied his first choice, instead is delegated to his fourth or fifth choice? Surely the minister is aware that the reason why those choices are filled up is because of fear that the applicant may not be granted any university place at all if the first or second choices were denied!
Of the 68,110 applications for degree programmes offered by local public universities for the 2007/ 2008 academic year, only 40,116 students obtained places.
Does that mean that there are now 28,000 more places for degree programmes offered by local public universities? Care to elaborate if these places are among the first or second choices of the applicants? Mr. Minister?
Mustapa clarified that not all the applications met the minimum qualification of Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 2.0.
“We will consider appeals from those who qualify (but did not get a place),” he said...
In the first place, there should not be any case where anybody "qualify but did not get a place". This shows the inadequacy and inefficiency of the centralized Higher Education Ministry.
BLA BLA BLA!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Tap resources from Internet, teachers urged
Tap resources from Internet, teachers urged
http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/6/28/technology/20070628114925&sec=technology
Teachers are encouraged to tap into the Internet resources to get supplementary notes for their students.
Penang Education director Ahmad Husain said teachers should keep up with time and incorporate new ways of doing things in view of the information and communication technology (ICT) age.
"Teachers too need to improve themselves. They have to value the pursuit of lifelong learning and continue to upgrade themselves.
"They should equip themselves with skills, knowledge and understanding on when and how to use ICT effectively in the classroom," he said in his speech during the island district level Teachers Day celebration at Dewan Sri Pinang in Penang yesterday.
Try telling this to our information minister, who repeatedly told journalists not to pay attention to websites, and also called bloggers unemployed women who will incite racial discord.
Ahmad also said teachers should continue to sharpen their thinking in terms of substance, creativity and quality.
"They are the role models for students. Whatever they do, children will follow.
Really, this sums up our education system. Our young generation is being brainwashed into mindless robots, who will only know how to follow orders from the top.
BLA BLA BLA!
http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/6/28/technology/20070628114925&sec=technology
Teachers are encouraged to tap into the Internet resources to get supplementary notes for their students.
Penang Education director Ahmad Husain said teachers should keep up with time and incorporate new ways of doing things in view of the information and communication technology (ICT) age.
"Teachers too need to improve themselves. They have to value the pursuit of lifelong learning and continue to upgrade themselves.
"They should equip themselves with skills, knowledge and understanding on when and how to use ICT effectively in the classroom," he said in his speech during the island district level Teachers Day celebration at Dewan Sri Pinang in Penang yesterday.
Try telling this to our information minister, who repeatedly told journalists not to pay attention to websites, and also called bloggers unemployed women who will incite racial discord.
Ahmad also said teachers should continue to sharpen their thinking in terms of substance, creativity and quality.
"They are the role models for students. Whatever they do, children will follow.
Really, this sums up our education system. Our young generation is being brainwashed into mindless robots, who will only know how to follow orders from the top.
BLA BLA BLA!
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