KUALA LUMPUR: The Education Ministry is collaborating with the Malaysian Technical University Network (MTUN) to facilitate entry by Malaysian Diploma Vocational (MDV) students to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes.
Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching said that this was part of the government’s efforts to resolve the issue of accreditation of graduates from vocational colleges, which had deterred them from pursuing their education at institutes of higher learning.
“MDV graduates can further their education to a bachelor’s degree at public institutes of higher learning (IPTA) and private institutes of higher learning (IPTS) on the account that their Malaysian Vocational Certificate is equivalent to 3 Credit Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) as set by the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate.
“At this time, the ministry and the Malaysian Technical University Network is collaborating to develop a programme to strengthen their qualifications for TVET entry, especially for students from MDV.
“MDV graduates can also get jobs in industries subject to the terms and requirements of employers,” she said in reply to a question from Nurul Izzah Anwar (PH PKR-Permatang Pauh) during Questions and Answers session at the Dewan Rakyat today.
Teo said all MDV programmes by vocational colleges need to undergo accreditation by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) and applications for 615 programmes had been received since June 2016.
She said out of that number, around 83 percent or 510 programmes have received temporary accreditation.
Teo said 428 programmes had been accepted for full accreditation, 12 programmes had received full accreditation and 54 programmes were in the process of fulfilling the conditions to obtain full accreditation.
She added 362 programmes were being evaluated in order to meet the requirements for full accreditation, which is expected to be finished by next year.
She said student entry into vocational colleges this year was 14,243 compared to 16,728 last year. Although the number had increased in 2013 from 15,916 to 18,022 (2014), it dropped to 17,544 in 2015 and 2016 (12,875).