Higher education system of Malaysia

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Institutions of higher learning in Malaysia provide opportunities to equip individuals with knowledge, skills and professionalism to meet the need of national human resources for the national development. The public and private institutions play important roles to fulfill the national needs. Besides the public educational system, there also exists a widespread and expanding system of private institutions ranging from kindergarten to university. These institutions mostly cater exclusively for local examinations, especially the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia--STPM (equivalent to A-Level) and professional courses. The most recent development has been the introduction of twinning programmes where a local college enters into an arrangement with a foreign university and provides the first stage of the degree course in this country, while the final part is taken at the university concerned overseas.

Types of higher education institutions

The Higher Education Division of the Ministry of Education will coordinate and monitors the activities of institutions of higher learning in Malaysia, while the administration of polytechnics falls under the jurisdiction of the Technical and Vocational Education Division of the Ministry. Institutions of higher learning can be classified into three categories: polytechnic, college and university.

Polytechnics: Polytechnics were established in 1969 to provide training in engineering and commerce to students specialising in technical and vocational areas. The students graduate with diplomas and certificates. The entry requirements for polytechnics are the SPM/SPMV qualifications or equivalent. The full time programme for the diploma award is three years and two years for the certificate. Presently, there are six polytechnics: Politeknik Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan; Politeknik Ungku Omar, Perak; Politeknik Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah, Kedah; Politeknik Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, Pahang; Politeknik Kota Bahru, Kelantan; Politeknik Kuching, Sarawak. Institut Tun Hussain Onn, Batu Pahat is the training centre for the polytechnics' academic staff.

Colleges: Malaysia has thirty teacher training colleges, besides that, there are two public colleges, i.e. Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM), and Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman (KTAR). ITM was set up in 1956 and KTAR in 1969. These Colleges provide certificate, diploma and pre-university programmes especially in the fields of commerce, applied science and technology.

Universities: Malaysia has nine public universities, one international, and two institutes which will be upgraded to university status. These institutions play the major role in the development of Malaysia. Presently, Malaysia still depends a great deal on foreign universities, especially in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and New Zealand to provide higher education for its students. Malaysian universities provide diploma, undergraduate and post-graduate study programmes. The locations and the academic core areas of these universities are shown in Figure 2. Besides the public institutions, there are more than 300 private institutions/ centres/ colleges, which are involved in the provision of some form of tertiary educaion, and of this number, 23 of them are engaged in "twinning programmes" mainly with universities in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The passing of new legislation on education recently is part of a major comprehensive reform of the country's higher learning; private universities have been established, led by Universiti Telekom (UNITEL), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) and Universiti Teknologi Petrcnas.

FIGURE 1 : UNIVERSITIES IN MALAYSIA AND AREAS OF SPECIALISATION
Universities Location Academic Core Area
1. Universiti Malaya (UM) Kuala Lumpur Science, Humanities, Social Sciences etc.
2. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak. Science, Humanities, Social Sciences etc.
3. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Penang, Kelantan, Perak. Science, Humanities, Social Sciences and Technology
4. Universiti Purta Malaysia (UPM) Selangor, Terangganu, Sabah. Science, Agriculture and Technology
5. Universiti Teknologi Malaysia UTM) Johor, Kuala Lumpur Science, Technology & Engineering
6. Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) Kedah. Business Management & Accountancy
7. Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) Sarawak. Specific to the need of the Development in Sarawak
8. Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Sabah Specific to the need of the Development in Sabah
9. Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) Kuala Lumpur, Selangor Science, Humanities and Islamic Studies
10. Institut Perguruan Sultan Idris Tanjung Malim, Selangor Curricula and Instruction
11. Institut Tun Hussin Onn (ITTO) Batu Pahat, Johor Technical and Vocational

Coordination of higher education

The Ministry of Education has established departments and divisions within the Ministry to assist management of national education. The departments are: Higher Education, Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education, Private Education, Special Education, Technical Education, and Moral and Spiritual Development Education.
The Higher Education Department functions as a secretariat which co-ordinates and monitors the activities of public and private universities and college education. Prior to 1996, two laws regulated education in Malaysia, namely the Education Act, 1961 and the University and University Colleges Act, 1971. These two legislations have now been replaced by two new legislations in late 1995. With the passing of two other new legislations in early 1996 and one other legislation in late April 1996, education in Malaysia will be governed by five legislations. These are: Education Act, 1995; University and University Colleges (Amendments) Act, 1995; Private Higher Education Act, 1996; National Council of Higher Education Act, 1996; and National Accreditation Board Bill, 1996.



Institutional governance

Each institution must coordinate its administrative functions to best serve its educational mission. The structure of institutional governance is very similar among the universities and is defined in the Public Acts. The Vice-Chancellor is the chief executive officer of a university, assisted by the three Deputy Vice-Chancellors i.e: Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Development, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Student Affairs. The Registrar is the secretary to the university. The library is headed by the Librarian and the Bursar is in charge of money matters. All supporting staff are well-trained to carry out administrative functions. Detailed recordkeeping enhances the management of the institution.
Under the University and University and University Colleges Act, 1995, the highest authority of a university is the Administrative Board (council) and the Senate. The Council regulates conditions of services for staff, maintaining the facilities and managing financial affairs etc. The university's Senate is responsible for the control and direction of academic programmes, research, examinations and has the power to award degrees, diplomas and certificates. The membership of each body is selected or appointed by various concerned authorities as stated in the University's Statue.