Latest news with #SyedAlweeAlsagoff
BusinessToday
13 hours ago
- Business
- BusinessToday
Malaysian Universities Top The QS Rankings, Yet RM6.1 Billion Spent Sending Students Abroad
Sunway University saw its ranking jump 129 places to become the 410th best varsity globally By Dr. Syed Alwee Alsagoff Malaysia achieved the world's highest improvement rate in last week's QS 2026 University Rankings – 70% of our 32 institutions climbed global standings, with Universiti Malaya reaching 58th and Sunway University jumping 129 positions to 410th globally. Yet Malaysian families still spend RM6.1 billion annually sending 75,000 students overseas – equivalent to our top five universities' combined operating costs. Malaysia's best minds build foreign economies while outsourcing their children's education – a self- sabotaging cycle fueled by rankings obsession. This 'gilded cage' of global validation backfired: local tuition now exceeds Australian/Canadian household affordability, burying graduates under 1.33 years' salary debt (outpacing Singapore's 1.10 and Britain's 1.18). We've surpassed the very systems we emulate in financial burden, yet still question our own excellence. Meanwhile, the Western universities we're chasing face unprecedented crisis: the US has frozen student visa processing while universities lose billions in federal funding, the UK's Office for Students warns that 72% of English universities could face deficits by 2025-26, France imposed €900 million in education budget cuts, and Canada's elite institutions struggle with massive shortfalls. Three persistent myths drive our educational paradox, despite mounting evidence to the contrary: Myth 1: Western degrees guarantee success. The UK Higher Education Statistics Agency (2024) shows only 68% of graduates secured high-skilled jobs, while 40% work in non-graduate roles. By contrast, Malaysia's top STEM graduates earn 70-80% of US wages (PPP-adjusted, Bank Negara Malaysia 2023) without the RM400,000 overseas debt burden. The supposed 'global advantage' remains uncertain at best. Myth 2: Rankings equal quality. Our rankings obsession created this gilded cage. UPM's 'Triple Crown' MBA accreditation (held by just 1% of business schools worldwide) proves our excellence, yet we celebrate improvements in Western league tables that systematically favour centuries-old reputations over teaching excellence. Our misplaced reverence for imported credentials blinds us to homegrown excellence. Myth 3: We must undercharge to compete. UPM's Triple Crown MBA costs international students RM37,900 – just over a tenth of Melbourne's RM330,000 or Manchester's RM285,000. Malaysian universities offer equal quality at dramatically lower prices, but these discounts don't compete; they concede. Our own pricing perpetuates the very inferiority myth we seek to overcome. The global education landscape is shifting. China's R&D expenditure reached USD458.5 billion in 2023, contributing 40% of global AI research papers. India surged from USD32 billion to USD75 billion in R&D spending between 2015-2021. South Korea's formed their own University Rankings Forum. These nations stopped seeking Western validation and started defining their own excellence metrics. Malaysia must follow suit – not by copying their models, but by recognising that the improvement rate proves we already have what it takes to compete globally. Malaysia's education revolution begins with three decisive digital reforms: First, Education Malaysia must streamline its global footprint by reducing its twelve international offices to only the most essential – a move proven effective when the British Council saved £185 million after closing twenty locations. Second, we must implement competitive tuition pricing, ensuring international student fees reflect at least 50% of Western rates to balance accessibility with institutional sustainability. Third, TalentCorp's Malaysia@Heart initiative should be transformed into a student-diaspora centred networks platform that rival Germany's DAAD (which now manages €426 million in digital programs) and Australia's OS-HELP (supporting 15,000 students without physical offices). Yet money isn't the barrier – mindset is. True transformation requires more than restructuring – it demands strategic ambition. While other nations rely on physical presence, Malaysia should pioneer digital scholar-diplomacy: cultivating elite networks to secure preferential access at top global institutions, and deploying education envoys to negotiate strategic partnerships. Malaysia has the tools – now we need the nerve. We must stop treating degrees as job tickets and start demanding world-beating standards. This is our moment to stop chasing global benchmarks and start setting them. The world rewards leaders, not followers. Related
BusinessToday
31-05-2025
- Business
- BusinessToday
Sarawak's Free Tertiary Education: A Scheme That Sounds Better Than It Works
Dr. Syed Alwee Alsagoff The Sarawak state government's recent approval of the Free Tertiary Education Scheme (FTES), debated in Dewan Undangan Negeri Sarawak and set to commence in 2026, deserves closer examination. Academic commentators caution that such schemes may, in certain conditions, undermine the very goals they seek to achieve. Theoretical frameworks across disciplines warn against such approaches. Economic theory via Gary Becker's Human Capital demonstrates how removing price signals distorts investment decisions. Sociological analysis through Pierre Bourdieu's Cultural Capital shows free access benefits only the privileged. Social psychology's Leon Festinger's Cognitive Dissonance Theory explains why students undervalue cost-free education. The fundamental flaw becomes apparent when examined through three critical pressure points. These interconnected challenges are funding sustainability, employment economies, and social outcomes. When any one area fails, the entire system breaks down. The Funding and Quality Crisis Free tertiary education begins with noble ideals. It may quickly collapse under financial strain. Universities become chronically underfunded – lecture halls overflow, equipment grows obsolete. Faculty burnout soars as universities compensate by slashing staff and morale – quality lies in ruins. Without proper funding, 'free' becomes a bargain at the cost of excellence. Scotland's SNP policy cut per-student funding by 15% in a decade. France still struggles with Mitterrand's underfunded fiscal legacy – its 2014's dismal stats reported 30% on-time graduation, 44% first-year retention. Macron's recent €904M education budget cuts worsen overcrowded reality. Germany stumbled initially. Merkel's Higher Education Pact 2020 and Excellence Initiative had to pour billions into reforms. They reinstated Numerus Clausus restrictions. Elite program admissions remain brutally competitive everywhere. Only 20% of qualified applicants secure UK medical school spots. 25% in Germany's Numerus Clausus. 5% of NEET-qualified candidates in India. These bottlenecks exist regardless of tuition fee schemes. The verdict? Free tuition works only with massive, sustained investment and tough controls. Anything less fails students and economies alike. Job Market Disconnect Critics argued against Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa-era 20% graduate unemployment. Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's education expansion bred 'diploma mills.' Free tuition without market accountability fails. When neither students nor universities bear the cost of poor program choices, the result is identical. Protests over unemployable degrees. Systems that prioritise access over outcomes. Today, Sarawak's economy depends heavily on oil, gas, and palm oil. It requires specific technical skills and entrepreneurial capabilities. While the FTES covers STEM, Law, Medical, Accounting, and Finance programs, this traditional academic focus may not align with future emerging economic needs. A free university system that channels students toward conventional programs today – rather than future growth sectors like digital technology, green energy, and advanced manufacturing – creates ill-equipped graduates tomorrow. Social Mobility Failure The most profound irony: poorly designed free education policies may increase inequality rather than reduce it. Chile's experience under Michelle Bachelet's expanded free higher education shows how middle-class families capture the greatest benefits. Working-class students continue facing barriers from living costs and cultural capital gaps. Brazil shows similar patterns under Lula da Silva's expansion policies. Chronic underfunding creates a two- tier system. Wealthy families send children to expensive private schools for university preparation. They then capture most free public university places. Poor students miss out entirely. In Sarawak, urban families in Kuching and Miri are better positioned to take advantage. They have superior secondary education preparation and stronger social networks. Rural and indigenous communities face different barriers that removing tuition fees doesn't address. A Better Path Some critics say Sarawak merely requires resolute governance to optimise implementation rather than pursuing ideologically-driven yet demonstrably ineffective strategies. Rather than blanket free tuition, the focus should be on: Enforcing PTPTN's income-contingent loans with proper graduate tracking Targeted equity reforms – more scholarships for poor and rural B40 students Performance-based funding that rewards universities for post-tertiary professional trajectories. The debate isn't about ideals of access (this is unassailable) but implementation realities. A tuition-free degree is worthless if it doesn't open doors. Related
The Star
27-04-2025
- General
- The Star
Find a better way of assessing schools and teachers
I WRITE in support of the views expressed in the letter headlined 'Malaysia's new educational obsession' by Dr Syed Alwee Alsagoff that appeared in The Star on April 26 (online at As pointed out by the writer, there is an obsession developing with the average school grade (Gred Purata Sekolah or GPS) which can result in unhealthy competition between schools. Billed as RM9.73 for the 1st month then RM13.90 thereafters. RM12.33/month RM8.63/month Billed as RM103.60 for the 1st year then RM148 thereafters. Free Trial For new subscribers only
