The university suspended its links to the college – one of three Malaysian institutions with links to the Welsh body – after a BBC investigation revealed Mr Yaakob claimed to have a masters and a doctorate in business administration, but both came from a bogus university.
By Graham Henry, WalesOnline
VIDEO: Rosmah Mansor’s relative talks about Fazley Yaakob
SEE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgw-DgS13YE
SEE THE WEDDING PHOTOS HERE: http://www.agendadaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_5a68310e-3132372e-10a4a320-993c24b4
The principal of a Malaysian-based college with links to the University of Wales has resigned amid a probe into his bogus qualifications.
Executive director of Fazley International College (FIC) in Kuala Lumpur, Fazley Yaakob – a pop star in Malaysia – stood aside and apologised for “embarrassment” the university had suffered, after he drew attention to allegations over his credentials.
The university suspended its links to the college – one of three Malaysian institutions with links to the Welsh body – after a BBC investigation revealed Mr Yaakob claimed to have a masters and a doctorate in business administration, but both came from a bogus university.
In his letter to the institution, Mr Yaakob wrote: “Though I hold a director’s position, I have never been a part of the academic team nor have I sat at any of the academic meetings.
“As such you can be assured that at no stage was the academic standards or the reputation of the university put at a compromise.
“Upon further reflection, I consider that to continue as a director could be damaging to the college, its student community and the dedicated staff who have worked hard to uphold the academic standards and integrity.”
Mr Yaakob – who has had four hit albums in Malaysia – said that he had decided to resign as it was clear that the controversy was “undermining the reputation and good relations between the college and university,” but that he would continue to fight to clear his name.
“I sincerely apologise for having caused the university and its officials embarrassment. I do hope that the matter will be laid to rest and that the link between the University and FIC can be restored,” he added.
The university stopped its admissions process for its validated business administration and MBA courses last week as a “precaution”, even though Mr Yaakob did not teach on courses supported by the university. The 35 students already enrolled will be unaffected.
More than 13,000 students study on the university’s validated courses around the world and the university receives around £15m a year from the programme, 80% of which is abroad.
Vice chancellor Marc Clement defended the university’s overseas academic programme in a YouTube video released by the institution yesterday in response to the row.
He said: “We as a university are conscious that there are risks associated with international collaborative provision of education.
“We recognise that risk and on balance our judgement is that the opportunity far outweighs the risk.”
Mr Clement added that the university had to respond to higher education demand from the Far East, which he said would top 62% by 2025 compared to just 8% from Europe, meaning that the global market was “critically important.”
He said: “The University of Wales is one of the few national universities one can identify. Wales has a unique advantage here and the international agenda is critical to the mission of the university.”
He said that the university had created a dedicated faculty that was to act as an anchor for all international education activity within the University of Wales.
The institution also pointed to a team of 30 validation staff that ensured qualifications met the university’s standards.
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