Ex Limkokwing Students Demand Rm5m Over Accreditation Issues

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Ten international students are seeking RM5 million in damages from their alma mater Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (LUCT).
This comes after the institution lost its Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) accreditation for its Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons) in Cloud Computing Technology (BCCT) programme.
The former students - who graduated in 2018 and 2019 - hail from Bangladesh, Iraq, Senegal, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria and seek damages for university fees paid, living expenses in Malaysia and additional payments.
They cited emotional and mental duress over the accreditation issues as well as issues seeking employment back in their home countries.
The group’s representative, Chowdhury Atiqur Habibur, told Malaysiakini they decided to seek legal help after a meeting with MQA in August.
“A group of us had a meeting with MQA who told us that without going for legal action against LUCT, they could not foresee the university getting accreditation or solving this issue.
“At that moment, we decided to appoint a lawyer to discuss the matter with the university.
“The demand letter was sent and received by the university at 3.05pm on Thursday,” he said in a call yesterday.
The lawyer representing the students told The Vibes that the RM5 million in damages are for misrepresentation, negligence, and breach of contract by LUCT.
A letter was reportedly also sent to Higher Education Minister Noraini Ahmad, seeking a meeting.


LUCT says seeking re-accreditation, MQA says otherwise
Meanwhile, Chowdhury said that in the online meeting that MQA revealed that there was no legal provision in Malaysia that could compel LUCT to submit for accreditation.
MQA deputy chief executive Prof Khairul Salleh Mohamed Sahari and MQA senior accreditation director Lilian Kek Siew Yick were also present during the meeting.
Malaysiakini understands that the BCCT programme had provisional accreditation from March 25, 2014 until May 20, 2021.
LUCT then applied for accreditation in 2017 on Nov 22 but was denied in November 2019 by MQA’s accreditation committee for failing to meet the minimum requirement of standards.
They then submitted an appeal to the Higher Education Ministry on Dec 27 that same year that was subsequently rejected.
In May, LUCT claimed that eight courses, including BCCT, had been amended and resubmitted within 30 days of getting flagged in a recent accreditation audit.
In July, however, the university said they were still working together with MQA to re-obtain revoked accreditation for all eight courses, claiming certain areas still needed to be addressed as per MQA guidelines.
However, Chowdhury claimed that MQA, in a written response, confirmed that they have not received an application for full accreditation for the BCCT until today.
When contacted, a LUCT senior vice-president said the university’s lawyer would be responding to the group directly.
Chowdhury and the nine claimants previously joined a group of 840 students that demanded compensation from the university to no avail.
Manipulating potential students
LUCT is advertising 50 percent scholarships for programmes at the university on the education consulting website Afterschool.my.
The advertisement cites “accredited programmes” and global recognition as among the reasons to study at the university despite listing BCCT as one of the programmes offered.

Chowdhury said such advertisements made him feel helpless and fearful for potential students considering to study at the university.

“When I see these advertisements claiming their degrees are accredited and globally recognised despite its non-accreditation, I really feel helpless.
“Students coming to Malaysia from all over the world to pursue quality higher education can be easily manipulated by these kinds of advertisements.
“And after graduation, they may end up with a degree that is not recognised both locally and globally,” he said.  - Mkini

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