To stop the rot, start from the top

TheSun 15Nov2005 To stop the rot, start from the top THE slip in Universiti Malaya's ranking to 169 in 2005 from 89 previously in The Times Higher Education Survey is welcome ­ yes, welcome ­ because it may finally galvanise action to turn our universities around. Everyone but the university authorities knows that standards have been sliding inexorably over the years. There may be reasons for the latest slide, for instance, mistakenly classifying Chinese and Indian students as international ones in the last survey, which would have ranked not just Universiti Malaya but Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) higher on the degree of internationalisation. The point is we have only one university in the top 200 ­ USM dropped out of the rankings completely this year. But let's not be too obsessed with the ranking, it is just one ranking after all, but let's be very focused on how to improve the quality of our deteriorating universities. There are definite steps that can be taken to improve the quality of universities, and very importantly, the quality of its graduates. It is frightening to think that 60,000 local graduates are still unemployed, a clear indication that our local universities are not doing their job well. Any improvement must start from the quality of its academic staff and the will to promote excellence above all in academia. That would mean employing those who can teach and those who can do cutting-edge research without consideration of other factors. That kind of change must come from the top down. If vice-chancellors are not good enough, if they serve political interests rather than academic ones, the battle is already lost. We need vice-chancellors who care, who are independent and are genuinely interested in improving academic standards. The likes of Professor Ungku Aziz at Universiti Malaya and Professor Hamzah Sendut at USM come into mind. They brought respect to the institutions they headed. If the VCs are not up to mark and are more interested in shamelessly promoting themselves and playing to the political gallery and political parties, then they should be replaced by those who can make a real contribution to the university. Here's where the first change should take place. Then there must be the commitment by the government to shelter the vicechancellors from the politicians who lobby for this and that at the expense of the university and its academic excellence. Lobby groups must be kept firmly out. Finally, it must be realised that producing graduates of the right type with the right skills is much more important than producing an abundance of graduates. Quality is all important. That starts from the entry of students and depends on best teaching and assessment practices. Being sad about the deterioration in university standards is not enough ­ we must be prodded and pushed into doing something positive about it. The rot must be stopped now.