no more public university in Sarawak

Does Taib mean that Laila Taib College will not become the next university in Sarawak? This sounds like a serious matter based on what SUPP promised to the Sibu people

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CM: No plan for another public university

June 11, 2010, Friday

KUCHING: There is no immediate plan to set up a new public university in Sarawak, said Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.

“The present population (in the state) does not justify such a big plan.

“Nevertheless, I think it is worthwhile to get reputable private universities to come in and develop their own campus in Sarawak instead,” he told reporters after a delegation from Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus visited him yesterday.

Taib pointed out that both Curtin and Swinburne were actually doing quite well, where the latter was looking forward to increase its capacity to 4,000 students next year from the present 3,000.

He said that Curtin and Swinburne universities had been conducting good programmes for undergraduates and both had been able to maintain their high standard.

“As for Swinburne, it has just receive a self-accreditation recognition from the Ministry of Higher Education, which means they now can get the accreditation for their own courses themselves,” he explained.

Taib said private universities ought to maintain their high quality of education and grow big enough to attract both local and international students.

At the same time, he also urged the various universities in Sarawak to have sufficient consultation among themselves so as to avoid conducting too many “uneconomic courses”.

He added that the present set of education programmes in the state was on the right track to meet the state’s manpower demands, particularly with the development of the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE).

Meanwhile, during the visit, the Swinburne delegation, led by its chairman Datuk Amar Tan Sri Adenan Satem, presented a copy of the university’s certificate of self-accreditation status to Taib, who is the Pro Chancellor of Swinburne’s Sarawak Campus.

The Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) awarded Swinburne Sarawak the status after an audit of the campus in October last year based on the Code of Practice for Institutional Audit.

MQA is a statutory body responsible for monitoring and overseeing quality assurance practices and accreditation of national higher education.

In the audit, it looked into nine areas, namely — vision, mission, educational goals and learning outcomes; curriculum design and delivery; assessment of students; student selection and support services; academic staff; programme monitoring and review; leadership, governance and administration; and continual quality improvement.

首长：须具一定人口数量　砂无意再设公立大学

　　（古晋10日讯）砂州政府目前暂无计划再额外设立政府公立大学。

　　砂州首席部长丕显斯里泰益玛目表示，设立一家公立大学是属于大型计划，必须具备一定程度的人口数量，因此，本州政府无意再设立新公立大学。

　　继续引进国外大学设分校

　　他指出，虽然州政府暂无计划设立新公立大学的意愿，不过，州政府将继续努力引进国外知名大学前来砂州设立分校，有如目前位于美里的澳洲柯廷大学砂分校，及位于古晋的澳洲斯威本科技大学砂分校的成功模式。

　　他说，澳洲斯威本科技大学砂分校今年的学生总人数超过3000人，估计明年将突破4000人。

　　他说，上述两所国外分校提供的各种优质课程，吸引到许多国内外学生前往升学，例如澳洲斯威本科技大学砂分校开设的课程，成功获得我国高等教育机构大马素质委员会发出认证证书，既是一个典范。

　　他希望这两所国外大学分校继续扩展发展，以便能容纳更多国内外学生升学，而他也赞扬这两所国外大学分校管理良好，避免开设不符经济效益，即开办班级过小或成本过大的课程。

　　他认为砂大和这两所国外大学分校可进行适当配合，为砂州再生能源走廊培训足够的专业和本专业人才。

　　他也认为砂州现有的大专院校数量可基本满足砂州子民对深造需求。