LETTERS: Recently, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim instructed the Higher Education Ministry to end antiquated bureaucracy and to stop making decisions on behalf of universities.
Speaking at the launch of the 2024 Global Intellectual Discourse at Universiti Malaya, he also said that the ministry must give universities some leeway to decide on their priorities and programmes.
He also encouraged universities to expand specific programmes, particularly in artificial intelligence.
In that regard, can our universities still achieve a high level of performance if the ministry removes all the bureaucracy?
It should be pointed out that our universities — particularly public universities — are still part of the government entity. As such, they're bound to the procedures and due process set by the government.
Therefore, the only way to make meaningful changes for public universities is to give full independence to them instead of autonomy status as is the case currently.
There are certain implications if we give total independence to public universities, the most obvious being that they need to find their own source of funds to support themselves.
They can no longer rely on financial support from the government. By giving total independence to public universities, the government will have no direct control over them, thus being unable to impose the bureaucracy on public universities.
The public universities will then be able to reduce or entirely remove bureaucratic matters.
Besides being independent, one other thing universities must do to improve their quality involves the appointment of the university vice-chancellor or rector which should be more democratic.
They also should strengthen academic freedom, which is a key element to ensure the university's success in the long run.
DR MUZAFFAR SYAH MALLOW
Associate professor, Faculty of Syariah & Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times