University Malaya's (UM) faculty of arts and social science students were told to attend a workshop or fail their course.

Fearing they would not graduate, some 500 final-year students attended the 11-hour workshop last Saturday, which was held in the university.

The workshop introduced by the Higher Education Ministry starting this year aims to develop entrepreneurship skills.

However, a student representative told malaysiakini that the workshop was nothing more than a lengthy exposure to direct-sales.

"The workshop conducted by Aznita Management (M) Sdn Bhd was about the product Amcash (an insurance product) and selling techniques, that's all," said the student who wished to be identified only as Goh.

Sell the product

According to her, the students were also required to sell the product. She said they were told to form groups of 10 to complete the task in order to pass the course.

The students were required to sell the product to their peers on campus as well as to outsiders and must also get the contact details of their customers and potential buyers.

Apart from this, the students must also prepare a report containing the details of their customers as well as the techniques employed to clinch a sale.

The students have been given two weeks to complete the task and must submit their reports to the company by April 2.

It was alleged that the company would then evaluate the report to determine whether they pass or fail the course.

"This is not an entrepreneurship training programme but a direct sales training programme. It is unfair to us, the company is abusing us to gain profit," Goh claimed.

She also revealed that the students were in the process of drafting a petition to call for an end to such workshops.

A misunderstanding

Met today, faculty of arts and social science deputy dean Prof Siti Rohaini Kassim described the matter as a misunderstanding.

She maintained that the workshop would help hone the entrepreneurship skills of the students.

She explained that since the faculty did not have a special course in entrepreneurship skills, it had to choose an industry to train the students in.

"The choice can be any industry, it can be publishing or anything, but coincidently, the industry chosen was insurance therefore the students need to develop their skills in this industry," she said.

She also dismissed the claim that the report would be evaluated by the company officials and stressed that it would be done by the faculty.