AUKU Amendment

Changes to free young minds

The University and University Colleges Act 1971 (AUKU) may finally be free of its draconian image with a possible amendment soon that may change its flavour for good. There is hope yet for greater freedom of association and expression for university students, writes ANIZA DAMIS.

MENTION the University and University Colleges Act 1971 and most public university students will tell you it's draconian in nature.While most would be hard-pressed to detail the contents of the AUKU, it is clear that the act curtails a student's freedom of association and expression.Basically, a student cannot have any dealings with any society, political party, trade union or organisation, without advanced written approval from the vice-chancellor.If the student contravenes these restrictions, it is considered an offence that is punishable, on conviction, by a fine or prison term.
The student is automatically suspended or dismissed from the university without any recourse for continuing his studies.Although the act is to provide for the establishment, maintenance and administration of universities and university colleges, and has 27 sections to it, it is Section 15 -- related to freedom of association and discipline of students -- that has been the most contentious.It has kept calls to abolish or repeal the act alive through the years.But a recently-tabled amendment by the Higher Education Ministry to the University and University Colleges Act 1971, up for debate at the next parliamentary session, seems fairer, more mature and humane.Although students will still not be allowed to associate with any political party or unlawful organisation, they will be given the freedom to join any society, organisation (including governmental organisations) or group.This is regardless of whether or not it is established under any written law, in or outside the university, and in or outside Malaysia. And, they can do so without permission from the vice-chancellor.Currently, the vice-chancellor expressly identifies which organisation is allowed. With this amendment, the vice-chancellor has to expressly identify which organisation is not allowed. Further, a student shall not be prevented from making a statement on an academic matter relating to a subject on which he is engaged in study or research.Interestingly, the amendment decriminalises offences in the act and removes the criminal penalties provided under Section 15. Therefore, all offences committed by a student under AUKU will be disciplinary offences.And, in keeping with the principle of "education is the right of all", the amendment will ensure that there is no reason why a student should be deprived of the opportunity to study, even if he is detained or in prison.For instance, a student who is charged with a registerable offence (as defined under the Registration of Criminals and Undesirable Persons Act 1969) would no longer face automatic suspension. The vice-chancellor has the discretion to suspend or dismiss the student. He can also only be suspended or dismissed if a serious offence has been committed.A student who has been dismissed from the university may also apply to enter the same university or another university, with permission from the minister.A student in detention or imprisonment may sit for university examinations with the permission of the senate and home minister. A student who is suspended may enter another university with the written permission of the minister.And, if a student is discharged or acquitted of a registerable offence, the period in which he was suspended or imprisoned (if detained while awaiting trial or appeal) will not be counted towards the overall maximum period of study.If a student faces disciplinary charges, he has the right to be heard and represented at the disciplinary hearing. And for a student to be stripped of his degree, only the chancellor can do it with the support of not less than two-thirds of the university board.Unlike previously, where the definition of "student" referred only to undergraduates, this amendment seeks to extend it to any student who is following a course of study, instruction, training or research at the preparatory, undergraduate, post-graduate or post-doctoral level, including distance-learning, off-campus, exchange and non-graduating students.This means while only undergraduates are currently allowed to hold positions in university societies or be a member of the student representative council, with this amendment, a mature post-graduate student can also avail himself of the full extent of university life.And, keeping in mind the right of everyone to education, the amendment has also taken into consideration the rights of politicians who may want to further their studies in public universities.Although a student is not allowed to be a member of a political party, the vice-chancellor may give exemption to any politician who wishes to become a student in the university, thus enabling any serving politician to enroll for a course at a university without giving up his political career.Even more liberating, under this proposed amendment, Section 15C, presumptions will be deleted. Currently, under this section, if a person is found in possession, custody or control of any books, accounts, writings, lists of members, seals or banners relating to any organisation, it is presumed, until the contrary is proven, that such a person is a member of such an organisation.With this amendment, this automatic presumption of guilt is removed

Zimbabwean Students Heads East to Malaysia?

As reported in University World News - Issue No 0037

ZIMBABWE: Students look east
Writer: Clemence ManyukweDate: 20 July 2008
Zimbabwean students are turning to Asian universities following Australia's decision to deport eight youngsters whose fathers are accused of propping up the government of President Robert Mugabe - and more students might yet be deported. The United States has also said five students involved in "anti-democratic" activities would be deported, but has not said when or given their names. Unlike in the past, local papers are now awash with advertisements offering students places at Asian universities, mostly in Malaysia.In the run-up to the 29 March presidential election, which was won by Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai but not with the 50% majority needed to claim the presidency, Malaysia said it was prepared to grant asylum to Mugabe, who faced threats of charges of crimes against humanity as power seemed to slip from his grasp. Instead, the 28-year ruler unleashed brutal violence against opposition supporters, leading to more than 100 murders and Tsvangirai boycotting a run-off poll. Unsurprisingly, Mugabe won that one-man election on 27 June, but it was condemned by observers from the African Union, Pan-African Parliament and Southern African Development Community as not reflecting the will of the people.In an interview with University World News, Zimbabwe's Deputy Minister of Information and Publicity Bright Matonga said the fact that an increasing number of students were heading to Asia was not a government directive, but was rather due to the fact that they were loyal to their government. Mugabe has pursued a 'Look East' policy since western government's imposed targeted sanctions on key members of his regime."The trend is not as a result of a government directive, but people are taking precautionary measures [and responding to] our Look East policy due to the west's illegal regime change agenda. Naturally we expect people to take a hint from the way we operate," Matonga said."We are however encouraged by the fact that our students are now going to Asian universities because these are developing countries and their curricula are modelled along the same lines as ours as we share a similar strategies and in some cases history."One consultancy firm splashing adverts in the local press, Saddein Education Consultancy, said it could facilitate the enrolment of Zimbabwean students in Asian countries.Last year Australia deported eight students on grounds that their parents were supporting Mugabe's oppressive government.Then Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he was aware that the deportations were akin to making children pay for the sins of their fathers. "I accept that and I reflected very carefully on that but the fact is that the sins of the fathers, the sins of the parents, are egregious sins."These are people who are doing enormous damage to the ordinary people of Zimbabwe and their children shouldn't have privileges extended to them by the Australian people," he said. "I don't think the Australian people want to extend privileges to the families of people who are causing so much sorrow, so much grief and so much hardship in Zimbabwe."Among those deported were Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono's twin daughters Pride and Praise, who were studying tourism and hospitality studies at La Trobe University, and his son Passion who was studying music production at a Sydney college. Also deported were children of the police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri, and Rural Housing and Social Amenities Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, who doubles up as Mugabe's election agent.Last month, a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told The Australian newspaper that it was investigating reports that at least three other adult children of pro-Mugabe leaders in Zimbabwe were studying or working in Australia, and that the government would continue to review the visas of Zimbabwean children who parents appear on the international sanctions list.When the students arrived in back in Harare late last year the state-run newspaper The Herald, which normally reflects government thinking, ran an editorial saying parents should start sending students to Asian institutions of higher learning in line with the government's 'Look East' policy.In an interview with University World News the US embassy spokesperson in Harare, Mark Weinberg, said the embassy was not in a position to comment on the issue. But he added that it was "reviewing" the sanctions list. "The US is continually reviewing its list of sanctioned individuals. Because of privacy laws we cannot comment on who is and who isn't on our sanctions list," Weinberg said.The British embassy press and public affairs first secretary Keith Scott said currently the United Kingdom was not pursuing a policy to deport students, but was investigating how many family members of leaders serving Mugabe were in the UK. If these family members were found to be violating the European union's visa and asset freeze on Zimbabwe, they would be added to the sanctions list, he added."The Mugabe regime is illegitimate. It has sponsored a campaign against its own people and shown complete disregard for the democratic process. While there are no plans currently to deport students whose parents are in the regime, we are investigating family members of those on the EU's visa ban and assets freeze, and we will take action."

Apex University

A letter to the Star editor

Wednesday July 9, 2008

Model apex varsity after NUS

I REFER to your report “Decision soon on apex varsity” (The Star, July 8). I would like to urge the authorities involved in making this decision to look closely at the public universities in Singapore, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University which are funded by the Singapore government and which are the best in Asean and amongst the best in Asia and the world.

The well-regarded Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) World University Rankings 2007 shows the National University of Singapore (NUS) at 33rd place and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) at 69th place, among the top 100 universities in the world.

Indeed, NUS is ranked among the top 50 universities in the world for natural sciences (25th), life sciences and biomedicine (12th), technology (10th), social sciences (20th) and arts and humanities (21st).

What will it take for Malaysia’s soon-to-be-decided apex university to be able to compete with the likes of NUS in Singapore, and more ambitiously, with the top 10 universities in the world such as Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, Yale, Imperial College, Princeton, California Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, University College London and MIT?

If one were to take Singapore’s NUS as an example, one guiding principle would be to recruit the best available administrators and professors, lecturers, tutors and research assistants internationally and pay them according to international standards, while assessing their performance on rigorous and transparent criteria.

Another guiding principle would be to recruit the best students from within Malaysia and from other Asean and Asian countries based on clear and transparent meritocratic criteria.

Yet another guiding principle would be to provide generous funding for scholarships and bursaries so as to ensure that no qualified student, no matter how poor, is denied a chance to study at an apex university.

But given the situation in Malaysia, where the Government tends to regulate higher education and universities with a heavy hand, and where bureaucracy and national agendas call the shots, the drive to set up one or more apex universities could well be an expensive exercise in futility and be doomed to abject failure.

As it is, our best students are being lured overseas year after year, often with full scholarships, to top-ranked universities, with a strong possibility that they may not return to Malaysia after graduation. And this trend will intensify, given the global hunt for talent, both in the region and around the world.

Yet the government does not seem to have the political will to address the relevant issues in higher education head-on.

P. GEORGE,
Johor Baru.

Internationalisation the Key towards Quality Education and Services in Higher Education

By
Prof. Dr. Yang Farina Abdul Aziz
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
This article was written when she was on sabbatical in University of Otago, New Zealand

The mention of “internationalisation” conjures up a multitude of images in people’s minds. To some internationalisation would mean foreign students and perhaps mobility and exchange programmes for local students. To others internationalisation would mean setting up of foreign universities in Malaysia or provision of Malaysian education overseas such as Lim Kok Wing University in London. People especially those dealing in higher education react differently to internationalisation. The majority sees the bigger picture of the positive effect internationalisation can bring to higher education in Malaysia but there will pockets of people with images of colonisation and fear embedded in their minds.

So what is internationalisation? The advances made in information technology coupled with the mass transportation of people have turned the world into a global village. The mobility of ordinary people and the ease plus speed with which we communicate with each other has meant that we now live in a smaller world. In higher education, the term globalisation may generally be described as trends in higher education that is connected to cross-national implications. Knight in 1994 defined internationalisation as “Process of integrating an international and intercultural dimension into the teaching, research and service functions of the institutions” while van der Wende in 1997 broadened the definition to extend internationalisation beyond the institutional level with “Any systematic effort aimed at making higher education responsive to the requirements and challenges related to the globalisation of societies, economy and labour market”. In 2004 Knight redefined internationalisation as “The process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions or delivery of post-secondary education”. Internationalisation thus, may be seen as the term widely used for the response of higher education systems and institutions to trends of globalisation. The concept of internationalisation has evolved through the years depicting an ever-changing landscape where higher education is concerned. Issues pertinent to higher education over the last decade are varied and would include the knowledge economy and research, global choice for tertiary education, democratisation of education, funding, international growing scope for employers, the Internet and communication technology.

In my opinion the best way to understand internationalisation is to ponder over what Prof. Denise Bradley, former Vice-Chancellor and President of University of South Australia said when she delivered a keynote address in a conference hosted by Universiti Teknologi MARA in 2006, “Internationalisation strategies, when put into effect, require change at every level of the university as well as change how people think and how they behave. The culture of the University must be transformed.” Take for instance the world university rankings. It is phantom to be like a curse to some institutions but the reality of the situation is that globalisation has caused education to become like a service in trade, a commodity with lucrative money gains for those who knows what it takes to deliver the goods i.e. quality education. Hence, those in the business of higher education will have to respond to these new challenges brought on by globalisation in order to remain competitive. One of the challenges that would be common for the new borderless world is the introduction of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) that is an offshoot of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Under GATS, there should be progressive liberalisation in services that will include education. Under GATS all trade barriers must be removed and in education this will mean no subsidies for local providers, minimum delays in approvals, no tax discrimination and many other incentives that will provide advantage to the local providers. Basically, under GATS the competition will be made on a level playing field with no advantage given to local providers. Over the last 10 years we have witnessed the setting-up of foreign campuses in Malaysia. The question would be; can the local universities maintain the competitive edge? We don’t really have a choice, the market forces (the students and parents) would demand for the best that their money can “buy”. Anybody in the business of providing higher education would acknowledge that competitiveness can only be achieved by being productive but keeping your costs down. Even public institutions are under scrutiny with anticipated less funding from the government. Yes, the public universities are expected to generate more and more of their own income and thus productivity would be a crucial issue. It is exciting times ahead for higher education in Malaysia. We have to be effective in delivering quality education be it at the postgraduate or undergraduate level. The key word to compete at the global level would be quality at affordable cost.

Raising the quality of your programmes and keeping your costs down would involve raising the competency of everyone working at every level in the university. For the research universities for instance quality may be reflected by the numbers of patents, research products, publications in high impact journals, number of PhDs produced per year. These numbers have been translated into key performance indicators for the academic staff. We are expected to deliver by the year end when it is assessment time! A strong research culture may be enhanced by the presence of a strong professional technical service. Yes equipment maintained and usage optimised will go a long way towards publication in a high impact journal. Support staff too must play their role in ensuring records are dutifully kept in order and problems with bureaucracy are dealt with efficiently.

The transition to a knowledge-based economy has meant that the demand for tertiary education has increased. In Malaysia it is anticipated that the number of students in the 17-23 age cohort seeking further education will rise to 40% by 2010. On top of this local market there are the ever increasing international students. These international students provide foreign exchange for a country and Malaysia is targeting an enrolment of 100,000 foreign students by 2010. However, greater access to tertiary education has necessitated that programmes offered are subjected to quality assurance procedures. We are on the right track on matters pertaining to quality of programmes as the Malaysian Qualifications Agency monitors that issuance of degrees must conform to standards as outlined in the Malaysian Qualifications Framework. However, it is not enough to ensure quality degrees if support services accorded to the students are not up to par with world standards. Students’ services play an important role in giving the optimum conducive experience a student may have.

And what would a student demand and expect from a tertiary education? The students’ expectations will be greatly influenced by the requirements of potential employers. Increasingly, employers now look for a graduate with an international outlook. Employees are expected to adapt to changes quickly, possess good communication skills, are exposed to multicultural experiences, reliable, open minded, tolerant and ever ready to face the challenges of globalisation. The curricular in a university must therefore reflect the international component, which, may be interpreted as curricula aimed at preparing students for performing (professionally/socially) in an international and multicultural context. In Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for instance, the double degree programme with University Duisburg Essen has attracted a lot of applicants. Families are willing to spend the additional funding for such a programme because it is seen as good investment for the students’ future. Of course, it would be impossible for everyone to be given the chance to experience a foreign country immersion programme. For the masses, the presence of foreign students on a local campus may add that extra international dimension.

A key thrust in the internationalisation programme of a university is the research activity. During my stint in the international office, many visitors come to UKM to seek collaborations in research. Research may be viewed as the main product offered to the community outside the university especially the international community. Research is the source for new knowledge ensuring the economic sustainability of a country. The importance of research to a university may be highlighted by a recent report in the University World News website. In an article aptly titled “Knowledge the only currency” it was reported “Lord (Digby) Jones, the ebullient Minister for Trade and Investment, and former Director General of the Confederation of British Industry, delivered a rousing introduction to the "Rethinking higher education" conference in London. Jones expressed a strong belief in the importance of universities as businesses to help promote 'Brand Britain'”.

I could not agree more with Lord Jones as higher education in this globalisation era would reflect the strength of a country. It is thus imperative that the Ministry of Higher Education move the internationalisation agenda which forms one of its seven thrusts in the strategic plan launched in August last year. The main issue that must be addressed is that tertiary education providers must adapt to the rapid changes brought on by globalisation in order to ensure a sustainable future and more importantly to turn Malaysia into a centre of excellence for education.

Internationalisation at its highest level will help promote Malaysia as a country and brand Malaysia as the country that offers quality products and services.