Varsities Decide Own Courses Mqa Only Guides Says Zambry

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 The higher education minister says the agency is only tasked with ensuring the courses offered meet established standards.
Higher education minister Zambry Abd Kadir said it is not the Malaysian Qualifications Agency’s role to decide whether a course can be offered. (Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: Local universities are free to determine their own courses, says higher education minister Zambry Abd Kadir
He said the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) is only tasked with ensuring the courses offered meet established standards, Bernama reported.
“I have not been told that all public or private universities must follow the mould set by the higher education ministry or MQA. It is not MQA’s role to decide whether a course can be offered.
“MQA is only responsible for ensuring any course to be offered by a university meets the required quality and standards, but it is not the final decision-maker,” he was quoted as saying at an event in Manjung, Perak today.
Earlier today, Bersatu Supreme Council member Saifuddin Abdullah called for public universities to be given greater autonomy and for bureaucratic barriers to be reduced to enable Malaysia’s higher education institutions to thrive.
In an exclusive interview with FMT, the former deputy higher education minister said while MQA played an important role in maintaining academic standards and course accreditation, the agency’s bureaucratic red tape had caused the country’s academic sector to lag globally.
In response, Zambry said there was no issue of universities not being given autonomy, because the universities determine their courses themselves.
“Each course must be discussed at the MQA level because quality control is important.
“However, MQA only acts as a guide for universities to ensure the new courses offered are not hastily or poorly developed,” he said.
Zambry added that regulatory oversight on implementation and curricula is normal to ensure public universities remain important institutions of higher education in Malaysia. - FMT

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