Was reading through a Star article about Universities being given “more autonomy to transform the face of education“, and then in the second last paragraph it said:
Earlier, Abdullah said the country had done fairly well in delivering higher education, with 29% of Malaysians aged between 18 and 23 in universities.
Wow, somehow that seems incredibly low to me. This could be for various reasons. One could be due to the distinction between a college and a university, which might constitute for the low number.
Well with the increasing rise of “University Colleges” would these students be counted into the statistics?
Or when these University Colleges, get granted University status, will there be a spike in the number of Malaysians attending University?
I wonder whats the reason for the low number.
Note: 95% of statistics are lies, but this wouldn’t be something you’d want to be telling the truth about!
Just picked up a new book, “The Intellectual
” (sounds stuck up doesn’t it?) by Steve Fuller.
Chose it after reading the Ecstasy of Influence, quoted a passage from the book, and also because I couldn’t find the other books that were quoted, so thought I’ll start of with this one.
Anyways, I found a good quote for you academics out there:
…even if you have personally lost the urge to be an intellectual, you are nevertheless seeding the next generation of intellectuals. Resist the temptation to quash the free-ranging and often reckless spirit that marks the first flowering of the critical intellect. It is too easy to invoke rules and standards that you know - and in other contexts would admit - are arbitrarily imposed for the sake of administrative convenience. If you cannot honestly justify academic strictures on intellectual grounds, then be as open as possible about the power relations that compel you to restrict or censure the student’s mode of expression. It is natural for students to be confused about many things, but they should never leave your office confused on this matter.
Actually, it doesn’t just apply to academics.
I am in the process of responding to a comment about “Why I support Free and Open Source Technologies”. Luckily for me The Star just released an article on “Giving students the right skills“.
FOSS give us just that.
“We will also seek recommendations from the private sector on what to include in the curriculum, so that we can equip students with the knowledge and skills that are needed,” Abdullah said.
Does anyone know where I can send my recommendations?
The Government also wants more collaboration between universities and the private sector in research and development.
Which FOSS does achieve, and does it really well. FOSS helps to bridge the digital divide. It helps in the transfer of technology and knowledge.
I will still finish up the reply though, so just hold on.
