No more abuse of academic qualifications

The Ministry of Higher Education will soon publish guidelines on matters concerning abuse of academic qualification.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said that the Malaysian government takes the abuse of academic qualifications seriously and is currently working on a set of guidelines that will restrict and reduce abuse. These guidelines will circumscribe qualifications on professional level, as well as degree and master's degree qualifications.

Idris estimates that the guidelines will be ready within a month. Higher education authorities are discussing the matter with the Malaysia National Council of Professors and Universities to determine the best prevention methods and the appropriate action against violations. He told reporters after launching the 2016 Arab-Asian Global Higher Education Summit on October 18th.

The summit, on the other hand, is meant to discuss education development and exchange of expertise among Arab and Malaysian universities, according to Sultan Abu Orabi, Secretary-General of Association of Arab Universities (AArU). The summit is concluding today and matters concerning collaboration, knowledge exchange, accreditation, quality assurance and students mobility from both sides are expected to have been tabled at the event.

Malaysian universities have a long record of academic excellence and have, for a long time, contributed to higher education in Arab countries by training and educating students from the region. Malaysian universities have also been known to collaborate and send their experts to many of these countries to help assist and improve universities, quality of education and other areas.