Inactive private universities, colleges ordered to shut, says Zambry

 The higher education minister also says UiTM Tawau will remain open despite concerns over its future.

Zambry Abdul Kadir said the higher education ministry had found too many private institutions when he took office, and had since been reviewing their operations. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

Private colleges and universities that are no longer operating have been ordered to close as part of a government review of the higher education sector, says its minister, Zambry Abdul Kadir.

Zambry said the ministry had found too many private higher education institutions when he took office, and had since been reviewing their operations.

“We instructed them to close the institutions,” he said when winding up the debate on the ministry’s 2027 budget at the committee stage in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Zambry said that as of Sept 30, there were 359 registered private higher education institutions, comprising 65 universities, 11 foreign university branch campuses, 39 university colleges and 244 colleges.

He did not disclose how many institutions had been ordered to shut.

He said the 65 private universities had 348,496 local students and 75,721 foreign students.

Private higher education institutions are regulated under the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996.

On another matter, Zambry said Universiti Teknologi Mara’s (UiTM) Tawau campus in Sabah would not be closed, despite concerns over plans to scale down its operations.

He said the campus had 254 students as of Sept 30, all enrolled in pre-diploma programmes designed to prepare them for diploma-level studies.

The government was reviewing the campus’s operations and considering ways to make better use of its facilities, including turning the site into an education hub involving other institutions, he said.

He did not provide a timeline for the review.

The proposed changes have drawn objections from the UiTM Sabah alumni, who fear that closing the campus, which has operated since 1996, would limit access to higher education for students in Tawau, Lahad Datu, Semporna and other parts of Sabah’s east coast.

Zambry also acknowledged concerns over a 46.6% reduction in the allocation for fundamental research at universities, from RM107.65 million this year to RM57.5 million in 2027.

He said more than RM200 million in previously allocated research funding was still tied to ongoing programmes, which partly explained the lower allocation.

The ministry would continue to seek additional funding and work with other ministries, including the science, technology and innovation ministry, to support university research, he said. - FMT