By RICHARD LIM
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysian polytechnics are a step closer to shedding
their image of being a “dumping ground” for students who do not make
the cut for entry into colleges and universities.
Three of the
institutions were upgraded by the Government to premier polytechnic
status and there are plans to upgrade others further to university
level by 2015.
The premier polytechnics are Malaysia’s first
polytechnic Politeknik Ungku Omar in Ipoh (Perak), Politeknik
Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah in Shah Alam (Selangor) and Politeknik Johor
Baru (Johor).
The upgrade sets the momentum for polytechnics
nationwide to undergo a major revamp under the Higher Education
Ministry’s Polytechnic Transformation Plan.
As part of the
transformation plan, the three institutions will be granted high levels
of autonomy and their focus would be in areas that support the service
industry.
The plan was launched here yesterday by Deputy Prime
Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who said that it was part of the
Government’s effort to transform Malaysia’s education system from
pre-school to higher education.
“I believe this plan is an
important effort to improve the quality of vocational and technical
education in Malaysia,” he said in his speech.
Muhyiddin added
that with the national economy becoming more service-based, polytechnic
programmes must address the changes by offering courses in areas such
as digital animation, design, finance and nanotechnology.
Higher
Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that
certificate-level courses would no longer be offered from the July 2010
intake as part of moves to improve the quality and image of
polytechnics.
Mohamed Khaled added that the transformation plan aimed to make polytechnics a preferred choice for students.
To
uphold quality, premier polytechnics would be benchmarked against
renowned technical institutions such as the Faschoschule in Germany and
its counterparts in Austria, Sweden, Finland, Norway and France.
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