KUALA TERENGGANU: The Education Ministry has been urged to discuss with the state government and other stakeholders to find alternatives to the merger of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA).
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said though the Federal Government has the right to decide whether to merge or separate the universities (UMT and Unisza), it should not make the decision without involving stakeholders.
“The government cannot work in solitude. That is the old way of doing things. It has to work with the people,” he said, commenting on the proposed merger between UMT and UniSZA announced by the Education Ministry yesterday.
Samsuri said the public must be informed about the decision such as the reasons for it, the type of merger, the arguments, its significance and if there were alternatives.
“We want to know if it was done for strategic purposes or to rescue the institutions. We have to be clear on this and not create confusion, especially to the public. Have we discussed alternatives? If cost is a major factor, then could sharing of fix costs between the two universities become an alternative?
“Then we have to look at the implication of costs. It may affect research grants, both local and foreign. Have we looked at various models for mergers from abroad? In the United Kingdom, its department of education did an overall research on merger possibilities of universities and found that it was not the best model.
“Has the government looked at the legal and social implications and the well-being of staff, students and the name of the merged university?
Samsuri said though UMT and UniSZA are no longer managed by the state government, the fact that both have histories and are in Terengganu would have an impact on education in the State.
“When the merger impacts the administrations at the universities, we (the state government) too will get hit by it. But of course there are pros and cons,” he added.
He also said the State government has no intention of taking over UMT and UniSZA but would consider building a new higher learning institution as promised in its manifesto in the last general election.
