KPT DRAFTING HIGHER EDUCATION PLAN 2025-2035, FOCUSED ON LOCAL EXPERTISE - ZAMBRY

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- The Higher Education Ministry (MOHE) is drafting the Higher Education Plan 2025-2035, a long-term plan for the next decade, its minister, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said.

The existing plan will end next year and the ministry was currently working on a new direction for the country’s higher education system.

“We need to develop a new plan for the next 10 years. In other words, we need to decide what will happen to the national higher education system within that period.

“What is its direction? What will happen to university, polytechnic and community college graduates? Where will they go?” he said at a media conference on his ministry’s achievements for 2024 here today.

He said the plan would also focus on the best education system capable of nurturing a competitive generation that is relevant to future needs and that a special committee was formed for that purpose that included various parties, including local experts with extensive knowledge.

Zambry also said that the ministry had suggested against using the services of foreign consultants to craft the national education system and instead rely on local expertise.

“This is a big change in the higher education system,” he said, adding that the plan is being drafted based on Malaysia’s own needs and experience, and involved all stakeholders, who will come together to ensure that the plan is effective.

“Maybe we can draw inspiration from how they implement things abroad, but priority is towards local experts. We plan collectively and ensure Malaysia’s higher education plan 2025-2035 fulfils the needs of our country,” he said, adding that the plan would be his ministry’s main agenda for the next five years.

When asked if he was satisfied with his ministry’s achievements for this year, Zambry said the ministry did not have ‘satisfied’ in its vocabulary.

“This (satisfied) means it has an end to it. In continuous work, what we implement is continuous improvement, which the Japanese call Kaizen and we will continue with self-criticism and we will look at which aspects we need to tighten or whether there are new ideas.

“… because the higher education world today is very dynamic and changes quickly and we need to place what we need,” he said.

He also noted that Malaysia would be taking over the chairmanship of ASEAN soon and in line with that development, the country would have a big role in the higher education field at the regional level.

He said his ministry is suggesting that Malaysia become an ASEAN Universities Research Centre next year and hoped that the suggestion will be accepted by other ASEAN member countries.

For 2024, MOHE achieved its five main foci, nurturing the country’s best talent, strengthening the research and innovation ecosystems, implementation of new approaches for transfer and sharing of knowledge programmes, internationalising higher education and strengthening enabling ecosystems.

-- BERNAMA