Urgent action is needed to transform higher education systems immediately
In recent years, Malaysia's higher education system has been grappling with a structural crisis. A group of former senior civil servants, known as the G25, have expressed their concerns about the state of affairs.
The system is plagued by a lack of transparency, which is fueling public distrust. For instance, the Ministry does not publish clear data on how many students are admitted to critical programmes or what qualifications they hold. This lack of transparency has raised questions about the fairness of the admission process.
Moreover, the enrolment of foreign students in the top five universities has grown by 20-30% annually since 2018. While international students contribute to the diversity of the academic community, they are taking up a significant number of places that could be given to capable Malaysians. The government must enlarge the number of subsidized University Pusat Universiti (UPU) seats to prevent Malaysians from being squeezed out.
The higher education system risks creating a system where access depends on one's ability to pay, not merit. Without urgent reform, this could lead to a knowledge economy built on discrimination and opacity. Public universities must be properly funded to focus on research, teaching quality, and producing job-ready graduates. Growth in commercial and direct intake programmes must be capped, and their revenues used to create more subsidized places.
Senior university administrators privately admit that government allocations barely cover salaries, leaving them dependent on commercial-rate fee-paying students. As a result, local students are forced into commercial admission channels due to limited subsidized placements through the UPU process. This situation has led to a decline in local student numbers in universities such as Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
The G25 group has also highlighted the lack of transparency in admissions to critical programmes in Malaysia's top public universities. Without clear data, it is difficult for the public to assess the fairness of the admission process and to hold the system accountable.
Malaysia's ambition to be an international education hub should not come at the expense of affordable, fair access to higher education for its own citizens. A knowledge economy cannot be built on discrimination and opacity. The government and university administrators must address these issues to ensure a brighter future for Malaysia's higher education system and its students.
It is important to note that the views expressed by the G25 group are not necessarily reflective of FMT's views. However, the issues they raise are of great concern to many Malaysians, and it is crucial that they are addressed to ensure the long-term success of Malaysia's higher education system.
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