University of Malaya’s Golden Age – The Rise, Decline and Fall
Malaysian education blogger Tony P was at the DAP forum on “Higher Education – Worsening Crisis” at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Thursday, featuring the latest victims of the deteriorating higher education crisis – Professor P Ramasamy of UKM, Dr Azly Rahman and Dr. Mutiara Mohamad of UUM, among others.
During the Q & A, he pointed out the false premise for the 89th and 111th position of the University of Malaya and University Sains Malaysia in the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) World’s Top 200 Universities Rankings.
One of the five measures that made up the THES score for each university was the “international student” element reflecting its international orientation. UM scored 68 and USM had a higher score of 78, ranking them as the 6th and 4th most internationalized universities in the world in terms of students – more international than Universities of London (Imperial College), Melbourne, Sydney and New South Wales. Most unthinkable! Tony wondered whether the non-Malay students in UM and USM had been mistaken as international students, which means that the rankings of both UM and USM would plunge when THES improves on their methodology in the new surveys.
Another measure is the Citation/Faculty score to rank research impact calculated by measuring citations per faculty member. UM and USM are two among the 11 out of the Top 200 universities with a 0 score in this category. Most ominous for the future and prosperity of Malaysia, which must be based on knowledge, science and technology.
For further details, go to Tony P’s excellent blog. I recommend it as compulsory visiting by anyone concerned about education in Malaysia.
It is close to a year since the release of the THES Ranking of the World’s Top 200 Universities last November, but no one in Malaysia, whether the Higher Education Ministry or the Universities seem to be concerned why Malaysia’s premier university, University of Malaya had fallen 71 places behind National University of Singapore (ranked No. 18), when both universities share a common origin in the establishment of King Edward VII Medical School in 1905.
Both universities are celebrating their centennial this year but with completely different vistas and vision – in Malaysia DPM Najib challenged UM to be ranked among the top 50 universities by 2020, while in Singapore, his counterpart Tony Tan challenged NUS to be among the Top 10 in the world!
Tony P blogged the hilarious anecdote related at the Q & A session of the forum, which bears repeating because it highlights another aspect and tragedy of the long-standing higher education crisis in the country – student quality.
During a recent orientation session for the freshie medical students – the “cream of the cream” of the nation’s top-scoring students with with straight 'A's - a senior asked the freshies:
Senior: Anyone knows which minister shouted "Racist" 41 times in Parliament?
Freshie 1: Err... what is "racist"? Don't understand lah.
Senior: “Racist” also don't know - go ask your friends!
Freshie 1 to Freshie 2: Err... so what is "racist" ah?Freshie 2: "Racist" also don't know! There, Michael Schumacher, Formula 1, "racist"-lah!
If UM and other Malaysian universities aspire to be world-class universities so that Malaysia can become an international centre of academic excellence, they must have world-class VCs and DVCs, world-class academics and world-class students; and the country must have world-class primary and secondary education systems to support a world-class tertiary education.
When was the “Golden Age” of UM? Who were the towering personalities of UM’s Golden Age? We must dare to revisit UM’s Golden Age and identify the reasons for its rise, decline and fall if it is to soar again – a necessary first step to restore the local premier university to world premier status.
During the Q & A, he pointed out the false premise for the 89th and 111th position of the University of Malaya and University Sains Malaysia in the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) World’s Top 200 Universities Rankings.
One of the five measures that made up the THES score for each university was the “international student” element reflecting its international orientation. UM scored 68 and USM had a higher score of 78, ranking them as the 6th and 4th most internationalized universities in the world in terms of students – more international than Universities of London (Imperial College), Melbourne, Sydney and New South Wales. Most unthinkable! Tony wondered whether the non-Malay students in UM and USM had been mistaken as international students, which means that the rankings of both UM and USM would plunge when THES improves on their methodology in the new surveys.
Another measure is the Citation/Faculty score to rank research impact calculated by measuring citations per faculty member. UM and USM are two among the 11 out of the Top 200 universities with a 0 score in this category. Most ominous for the future and prosperity of Malaysia, which must be based on knowledge, science and technology.
For further details, go to Tony P’s excellent blog. I recommend it as compulsory visiting by anyone concerned about education in Malaysia.
It is close to a year since the release of the THES Ranking of the World’s Top 200 Universities last November, but no one in Malaysia, whether the Higher Education Ministry or the Universities seem to be concerned why Malaysia’s premier university, University of Malaya had fallen 71 places behind National University of Singapore (ranked No. 18), when both universities share a common origin in the establishment of King Edward VII Medical School in 1905.
Both universities are celebrating their centennial this year but with completely different vistas and vision – in Malaysia DPM Najib challenged UM to be ranked among the top 50 universities by 2020, while in Singapore, his counterpart Tony Tan challenged NUS to be among the Top 10 in the world!
Tony P blogged the hilarious anecdote related at the Q & A session of the forum, which bears repeating because it highlights another aspect and tragedy of the long-standing higher education crisis in the country – student quality.
During a recent orientation session for the freshie medical students – the “cream of the cream” of the nation’s top-scoring students with with straight 'A's - a senior asked the freshies:
Senior: Anyone knows which minister shouted "Racist" 41 times in Parliament?
Freshie 1: Err... what is "racist"? Don't understand lah.
Senior: “Racist” also don't know - go ask your friends!
Freshie 1 to Freshie 2: Err... so what is "racist" ah?Freshie 2: "Racist" also don't know! There, Michael Schumacher, Formula 1, "racist"-lah!
If UM and other Malaysian universities aspire to be world-class universities so that Malaysia can become an international centre of academic excellence, they must have world-class VCs and DVCs, world-class academics and world-class students; and the country must have world-class primary and secondary education systems to support a world-class tertiary education.
When was the “Golden Age” of UM? Who were the towering personalities of UM’s Golden Age? We must dare to revisit UM’s Golden Age and identify the reasons for its rise, decline and fall if it is to soar again – a necessary first step to restore the local premier university to world premier status.
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