Redefine 'students' in UUCA, says Gerakan chief

Gerakan acting president Dr Koh Tsu Koon has asked for the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) to define "students" as only full-time undergraduates.

In a statement released today, Koh said the term "students" should leave out post-doctoral fellows as well as students following distance-learning and off-campus programmes.

Nevertheless, the former Penang chief minister was receptive to the proposed amendments calling it "a giant step in the right direction, long overdue."

"It will create a more conducive environment for the pursuit of knowledge, innovations and research. This is very much in line with our nation’s commitment to achieve a knowledge society with a competitive economy in the context of globalisation.

"Gerakan has for a long time been calling for amendments to the UUCA, especially the draconian restrictions on students in Section 15, as well as the top-down procedure for appointment of top posts such as vice-chancellors (VCs), deputy VCs, deans, etc," he said.

"We welcome the proposed amendment whereby the VC and deputy VCs will no longer be political appointments, but appointed on the advice of a selection committee, and deans, in consultation with faculty members," he added.

Besides ending political appointments, other proposals include - no criminal prosecutions for those caught joining political parties, those under police detention being allowed to take examinations and additional autonomy for vice chancellors and the board of directors.

"However, I would like to suggest that the definition of "students" should not include anyone following any study or research programme at the post-doctoral level," said Koh.

"Post-doctoral fellows are no longer students even in the loose sense of the word. They are almost like faculty members as they often do research and work as teaching assistants as well.

"Moreover, students enrolled in distance-learning and off-campus programmes should also not be subjected to the same definition of ‘student’ because they are only studying part-time," he added.

Meanwhile, in an interview yesterday Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin said the move reflected changing times.

"We are talking about a higher education strategic plan, creating world-class universities, first-class students and an excellent environment. So, we cannot have an Act that curtails these things.

"If you talk about bringing transformation to the higher education system and trying to achieve excellence, one of the things that you have to see happen in universities are correct surroundings," he told the Sunday Times.

Explaining the move to university administrators, Khaled said the higher number of public universities (20) in the country has made it inevitable for universities to self-administer.

"At the time when the Act was established, there were only one or two universities in the country. At that time, the minister maybe could play all the roles. Now, we have 20 universities.

"If everything is top-down, it will not be good for the university. There will be so much bureaucracy and we would not be recognising the strength and capability of the university.

"By giving them autonomy, we are telling them we believe they can undertake that responsibility, and that the task of turning the university into a world-class one is their responsibility as well," he said.

With this autonomy, the minister added, there is no reason for administrators to say "our university cannot excel."