Restructuring tertiary education in Malaysia: the nature and implications of policy changes

Abstract

The Malaysian Government is currently implementing policies aimed at major restructuring of tertiary education throughout the country. The stimulus for change derives from the needs of rapid economic development, and in particular a demand for a skilled and well-educated professional labour force, a long-established shortfall in the number of domestic places available in higher education, and a desire to raise participation rates. Measures include corporatisation of the universities in the public sector and active encouragement of state-owned enterprises and private corporations to establish universities in the private sector. While such changes represent a radical departure from the structure of the earlier system, retention of principles favouring such measures as affirmative action for student places and entry requirements for the majority bumiputera and promotion of Bahasa Malaysia as the predominant medium of instruction is likely to limit the effectiveness of the anticipated ‘revolution in higher education’ which the Government proclaims this to be.