GOOD PLAN
Over the last decade, Malaysia's higher education system has made significant strides. The 2015-25 blueprint lays the groundwork to ensure quality and access continues to grow.
Between 2004 and 2014, Malaysia witnessed a 70% increase in total higher education enrolment to a record of 1.2 million students. A six-fold increase in the number of students enrolled in bachelor degree programs and a 10-fold increase in the number of those enrolled in post-graduate degrees occurred from 2010 to 1990. The University of Malaya, Malaysia's oldest university, was ranked 151st in the 2014 QS World University Rankings (from 167th place in 2013) and entered the top 30 universities in Asia. These indicators are testament to the education sector's continuous improvements.
Refusing to rest on its laurels and to maintain this momentum, the government recently unveiled the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education). This outlines its priorities and goals for the sector for the next 10 years and identifies key strategies to produce better graduates as Malaysia moves toward and beyond Vision 2020. The Blueprint has highlighted ten key priorities, or Shifts, focusing on both stakeholders in the industry—students and academics—and enablers—funding, innovation, and delivery.
At the heart of the Blueprint is the aim to create more holistic, balanced and enterprising graduates. To achieve this, so-called soft skills, which range from ethics and spirituality to leadership skills, national identity, and language proficiency, will be incorporated into the curriculum. A new grading system know as the integrated CGPA (cumulative grade point average) has been devised and is set to be introduced in five public universities, including Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and the National University of Malaysia from September 2015. Increasingly, universities will be offering “2+2 courses," whereby students study for two years followed by two years of practical training, in an effort to bridging the gap between education and the workplace. The government has also introduced the CEO Faculty Programme, under which senior executives from the private sector are invited to lecture at public universities. Companies participating in this program include Samsung, Shell and AirAsia. “Our CEO Faculty Program works to make classes more relevant," said Dato' Seri Idris Jusoh, Minister for Higher Education, adding that “we have 30 big names at the moment coming in to teach at our facilities, and this has expanded over the past few years."
Another key Shift of the Higher Education Blueprint involves raising the profile of technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Malaysia has recognized the importance of vocational skills in the nation's development and in line with the Economic Transformation Program (ETP) is targeting a 2.5-fold increase in TVET enrolment by 2025, in order to supply an adequate workforce to the 12 National Key Economic Area (NKEA) sectors highlighted under the ETP. Industry-led curriculum design as well as improving the quality of teaching staff and delivery will raise the standards of community colleges, vocational colleges, and polytechnics, which in the past have been deemed the less prestigious of the higher education institutions.
Globalized learning also forms part of the Blueprint and is in line with the government's long-standing ambition to transform Malaysia into an international education hub. Malaysia is already part of the global trend towards the internationalization of higher education, with a number of prestigious international universities establishing branch campuses in the country and an increasing number of foreign students enrolling in local universities. Under the Blueprint, the aim is for Malaysia to attract 250,000 international students by 2025.
The new Blueprint reinforces Malaysia's commitment to becoming an educational hub and creating a knowledge-based economy, which is to drive the country's development in the final leg up to 2020. The government must now ensure effective executive of the Blueprint. For this, it has identified three phases of implementation: Phase I (2015) will focus on laying the foundation for the implementation; in Phase II (2016-20), structural improvements will start being implemented to accelerate the pace of change and Phase III (2021-25) will revolve around raising the global prominence of Malaysia's higher education system.
GOOD PLAN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Inside Perspective
Y.A.B. Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister, Malaysia
Y.A.B. Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, on the broad picture for Malaysia's future, its regional obligations and role, and the importance of constant improvement and development.
read articleInside Perspective
Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs , Belgium
TBY talks to Didier Reynders, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs of Belgium, on the potential for trade growth, the impending FTA with the EU, and Malaysia's role as gateway to the South-East Asian market.
read articleFocus: Chairmanship of ASEAN
In The Driver’s Seat
Malaysia's chairmanship of the world's seventh largest economy, ASEAN, marks a high-water mark for the organization. With a population of 600 million people and GDP of $2.4 trillion, the 10-nation trading bloc is implementing the final action lines of the blueprint to create a fully-integrated ASEAN community.
read articleFocus: Middle Income Trap
Danger Up Ahead
Under the leadership of Tun Mahathir in the 1990s, Malaysia set out its vision to become a developed nation by 2020—defined by achieving a per-capita income of $15,000—however, the country's rate of growth in recent years has slowed leading to fears that it may be heading into a middle-income trap.
read articleInterview
Dato’ Khairussaleh Ramli, Group Managing Director & CEO, RHB Banking Group
TBY talks to Dato' Khairussaleh Ramli, Group Managing Director & CEO of RHB Banking Group, on Malaysia's prominent role in promoting Islamic finance worldwide, and the challenges the country faces in the sukuk market.
read articleInterview
Dato’ Dr. Adnan Alias, CEO, Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM)
TBY talks to Dato' Dr. Adnan Alias, CEO of the Islamic Banking and Finance Institute Malaysia (IBFIM), on supporting the bonds segment, training Malaysian workers, and the country's prominent role in global Islamic finance.
read articleFocus: Islamic Finance
It’s All About the Sukuk
Malaysia continues to assert its position as a world leader in Islamic finance. Accounting for around 67% of global sukuk issuances, Malaysia is the largest sukuk issuer in the world. It is a pioneer in the Islamic finance industry, as the first country to issue sovereign sukuk in 2002 and to list an Islamic real estate trust (REIT) on its Stock Exchange in 2006.
read articleInterview
David Fike, President, General Insurance for Zurich Insurance Malaysia Berhad
TBY talks to David Fike, President of General Insurance for Zurich Insurance Malaysia Berhad, on the evolution of the company, Malaysia's strategic importance, and upcoming opportunities for the insurance industry.
read articleInterview
Maen Razouqi, Vice President and General Manager , Brunei, Malaysia & Philippines for Schlumberger
TBY talks to Maen Razouqi, Vice President and General Manager of Brunei, Malaysia & Philippines for Schlumberger, on investing in the future, leveraging foreign partnerships, and the factors of success for operating in Malaysia.
read articleInterview
Datuk Dr. Mohd Yusoff, President & CEO, Malaysian Industry – Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT)
TBY talks to Datuk Dr. Mohd Yusoff, President & CEO of the Malaysian Industry – Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT), on pursuing growth in the high technology sector, increasing the economic role of high technology exports, and establishing Malaysia as a regional leader in the aerospace industry.
read articleFocus: E&E
Plug & Play
At the forefront of Malaysia's manufacturing sector is the electrical and electronics (E&E) industry. E&E has been highlighted as one of the 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) under the government's Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to propel Malaysia into a developed nation.
read articleInterview
Y.B. Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah, Minister , Industrial Development for Sabah,
TBY talks to Y.B. Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah, Minister of Industrial Development for Sabah, on moving towards sustainability in Sabah's industrial sector, attracting outside investors, and increasing connectivity within the wider region.
read articleInterview
Y.B. Datuk Teo Chee Kang, Minister , Special Tasks for Sabah’s Chief Minister’s Department
TBY talks to Y.B. Datuk Teo Chee Kang, Minister of Special Tasks for Sabah's Chief Minister's Department, on future government policy, investing in infrastructure, and spreading economic prosperity.
read articleInterview
Datuk Mohd. Basri Abd. Gafa, President, Federation of Sabah Industries
TBY talks to Datuk Mohd. Basri Abd. Gafar, President of the Federation of Sabah Industries, on the state of industry in Sabah, supporting new business development, and the future of the region within the ASEAN economic network.
read articleInterview
Y.B. Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, Minister , Tourism, Culture and Environment, Sabah
TBY talks to Y.B. Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Sabah, on developing tourism in the face of environmental concerns, tax restrictions, and challenging macroeconomic trends.
read articleFocus: E-Government
Stream That Line
In a drive to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public sector delivery, which is one of the supporting policies under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), the government of Malaysia is increasing the number of services available to the public online.
read articleInterview
Y.B. Datuk Joseph Entulu Anak Belaun, Minister , Prime Minister’s Department of the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU)
TBY talks to Y.B. Datuk Joseph Entulu Anak Belaun, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department of the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU), on upgrades in the public services sector, overcoming challenges to modernization, and big data.
read articleFocus: The Role of PPPs
All The Best
Since the introduction of the 1981 Malaysian Incorporated concept, which set out a new approach to national development based on the notion of joint ownership of the country by the public and private sectors, the country has seen a steady rise in the number of public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
read articleInterview
Ahmad Shahizam bin Mohd Shariff, CEO, Pantai Operations Division of Parkway Pantai
TBY talks to Ahmad Shahizam bin Mohd Shariff, CEO of Pantai Operations Division of Parkway Pantai, on Malaysia's strategic position in their global operations, how to boost medical tourism, and collaborating with higher learning institutions.
read articleInterview
Tan Sri Dato’ Dr. Michael O.K. Yeoh, CEO, Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI)
TBY talks to Tan Sri Dato' Dr. Michael O.K. Yeoh, CEO and Director of the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI), on recent initiatives, the Center for Public Policy Studies, and the organization's goals.
read articleFocus: Halal Tourism
A Welcome Host
With 5.6 million Muslim tourist arrivals in 2014, roughly 20% of all visitors to Malaysia in 2014, and the number one position on the Global Muslim Travel Index 2015, halal tourism is a fast-growing niche market that is poised to drive the country's already well-established tourism industry.
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