SERDANG, Sept 7 — In a bid to address strident public criticism over the sliding quality of Malaysia’s education levels, Putrajaya announced today the launch of its Public University Transformation Programme (UniTP) modules that includes provision of more autonomy to improve efficiency.
In launching the UniTP Green Book here, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the programme would help “empower” public universities with the ability for self-governance and bypass red tapes.
“We want to empower the universities so they can make their decisions faster, more efficient and come up with solutions to their unique problems.
“But this must also be done with autonomy,” Najib said in his speech.
The UniTP Green Book will act as modules to guide university authorities on policy and procedural matters in line with the government’s aim of improving education quality under its university transformation programme.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh, who was also at the launch, said the playbooks can assist Malaysia in ushering its public universities into the world’s top ranking.
“Even though we have achieved much, there are still a long way to go with many targets to achieve,” he said.
Earlier this year, Idris and other government leaders admitted that it needed to overhaul its education policy following the continuous drop in global rankings by local universities.
Mounting criticism over the failure of local universities to produce graduates that can meet current demands of the labour market have forced Putrajaya to come up with the Educational Transformation Plan last year.
