By RICHARD LIM
PUTRAJAYA:
The much-awaited announcement has finally arrived and three
polytechnics have been selected as the nation’s premier polytechnics.
The
three institutions chosen are Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz
Shah in Shah Alam (Selangor), Politeknik Ungku Omar in Ipoh (Perak) and
Politeknik Johor Baru (Johor).
Higher Education Ministry
director-general Datuk Imran Idris made the brief announcement after
Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin
launched the ministry's Polytechnic Transformation Plan.
The
event bearing the tagline “Transforming Lives” is part of a grander
scheme to restore public confidence in local polytechnics.
The
three premier polytechnics are said to focus on technical programmes in
niche fields which address the needs of the services industry.
A
press statement by the ministry read that with the green light to enrol
foreign students in the near future, it is hoped that premier
polytechnics will foster the internationalisation of local knowledge,
innovation and technology applications to other countries – especially
in developing nations.
Centres of technology which serve as hubs
of reference, research and international collaboration will also be
established in the premier polytechnics.
To ensure that quality
is upheld, the premier polytechnics will be benchmarked against
renowned technical institutions such as the Faschoschule in Germany,
Austria, Sweden, Finland, Norway and France.
The ministry has also introduced a “star rating system” which identifies the strengths and weaknesses of polytechnics.
The transformation plan will also see the ministry upgrading the enrolment capacity of polytechnics.
Many
courses which cater to the needs of the services industry are in the
pipeline and the ministry is targeting a polytechnic enrolment of 119,
000 students by 2015 through this initiative.
To upgrade the
quality of polytechnics, diploma and higher diploma programmes will be
given priority and certificate-level courses will no longer be offered
from the July 2010 academic intake.
The ministry has targeted an increase of diploma students to 87, 440 in 2012 – a 30% increase from the 2009 figure of 60, 840.
The transformation plan will also benefit the academic staff in polytechnics.
It
has been targeted that 34% of polytechnic teaching staff should receive
at least a basic degree in their field of specialisation.
The
need to transform the local polytechnic landscape was first announced
by Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin in his
New Year’s address to his staff on Jan 12.
Mohamed Khaled, who
was also present at the event said in his speech that the
transformation plan is to make polytechnics the preferred choice of
students – not a “second chance route” which is commonly perceived now.
Source
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