Exam leak: Ex-prof wants USM to reveal names of committee members

 

A retired Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) professor has urged the university to reveal the members of a special committee that has been formed to scrutinise the examination process for each candidate.

Omar Shawkataly (above) said USM has to do this to uphold the principle of integrity and transparency to sustain public confidence.

He said this in response to the USM vice-chancellor Prof Faisal Rafiq Mahamd Adikan's recent statement that a special committee comprising external experts has been formed to scrutinise the examination process.

“When the government announced setting up special committees, it revealed the names of the panel members publicly like the special committee to report on the abolishment of the death penalty,” Omar told Malaysiakini.

He also pointed to the special committee on firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim who died due to injuries sustained at a riot outside a Hindu temple and the appointment of a special committee to investigate bullying at higher education institutions.

Omar said public confidence is very important for the image of educational institutions such as USM, which has been an Apex University (Accelerated Programme for Excellence) since 2009.

It is also important for the representatives of the Health Ministry and Higher Education Ministry to be part of the process in the special committee, he added.

Internal inquiry conducted

Omar, who was a USM senate member for five terms and sat on the university’s board of governors for two terms reacted after a postgraduate student, who was also a medical officer, alleged that exam questions were given to favoured students while those who were not in the lecturers’ good books were often given low grades.

Faisal had said the committee was established as a result of a complaint made by a Master’s candidate in the USM medical programme, who claimed that there was unfairness in the evaluation system, which led to the candidate failing the examination.

The vice-chancellor added that the university conducted an internal inquiry and discovered that the examination system all the while had been conducted in a thorough manner and regulated by strict procedures, with the involvement of external experts, and not by a sole lecturer.

“Following the announcement of examination results, candidates will be notified to provide feedback regarding which component of the examination requires revision if any.

“Nevertheless, in order to uphold the integrity and to safeguard the good name of the university, USM has even established an external committee to really ensure that the system and the process both are truly upright, and conducted with integrity and credibility,” Faizal added. - Mkini