KUALA LUMPUR: A nationwide campus tour, 'Jerayawara Kampus Madani,' is set to kick off soon, aiming to address grassroots issues in higher education institutions.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said these efforts are also in line with the ministry's plans to review the previous policy that fall under their jurisdictions including the Malaysian Higher Education Development Plan which ends next year.
He said while the National Review Committee's (NRC) that was established last year plays a pivotal role in reviewing the current policies, there are limitations in determining the long-term direction for higher education in the country.
"Therefore, I think it's time for us to formulate a new Malaysian Higher Education Development Plan as a continuation and extension of the existing plan. Hence, I request that the new plan considers the perspectives of all stakeholders through a more comprehensive engagement session.
"(And) I give the ministry 12 months to comprehensively diagnose the state of our higher education achievements.
"We need to scrutinise to identify the real issues and root causes of the problems (occurring at higher education institutions). We have to address the core and not the peripheral issues. We have to hit the nail on its head.
"This way, we will obtain accurate information to formulate a long-term strategy for the country's higher education, which will be documented in the new national higher education development plan." he said during the Higher Education Ministry Direction 2024 today.
He also revealed that on-site visits to various institutions will be conducted with cooperation from his deputy minister and the ministry's top official.
This he stressed, was to gain firsthand insights into the prevailing challenges in the implementation of policies at the grassroots level.
Addressing the matter at hand, the minister also announced today the ministry's direction with a comprehensive approach.
Zambry highlighted five primary focuses and 20 strategic foundations with the objectives outlined in the Strategic Plan for Malaysian Higher Education 2023-2025.
These five focused areas encompass the provision of the nation's best talent, strengthening of the research and innovation ecosystem, implementation of a new approach to knowledge transfer and sharing programs, the internationalisation of higher education, and lastly, strengthening of the empowerment ecosystem.
"Sometimes, we aim to emulate what is considered best practices from other governments and industries (replicating processes, systems and best practices) leading to a 'seemingly capable' facade, but the reality is otherwise.
"Therefore, returning to the 'maqasid' (objectives) and goals of higher education is imperative.
"Higher education institutions should be the 'custodian of knowledge', meaning all our actions must be knowledge-based, guided by data, and evidence-based."
Zambry served as Foreign Affairs Minister under the administration of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim from December 2022 until recently, before the current cabinet reshuffle took place.
He was then appointed as the new Higher Education Minister on Dec 12 last year, set to carry forward and implement plans devised by his predecessor, Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin.
On his first day of work, Zambry said he was not in the ministry to 'put something new', as he and Khaled were in the same government.
"Khaled has laid a good foundation in the past year as Higher Education Minister. I am here today to continue the agenda," he said after clocking in at the ministry that morning.
