Break one-track minds among lecturers, says academic

 

University professor Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi and dancer Ramli Ibrahim say universities should inculcate critical thinking.

PETALING JAYA: It is time to break the one-track minds found in university lecturers to boost innovation among the younger generation, says an academic.

Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi, a professor at UCSI University, said it is important for lecturers to revamp their teaching methods to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach as the key to economic development is innovation.

Tajuddin said many educators do not improve or widen their skill sets and this affects the education of students.

“It’s also time for universities to recombine different subjects such as including the humanities in their curriculum for students in different fields to interact with one another,” he said at an online forum on education and democracy.

He said universities should also inculcate freedom of thinking among their students as the campus is a place for students to broaden their perspectives.

“Universities are not a place for answers but a place of questions,” he said.

Classical dancer Ramli Ibrahim, who was among forum participants, said the arts, culture and social sciences are important tools for holistic education especially in higher education when graduates are about to face the world.

Ramli said universities should not be a place where it regulates too much to the point it impedes the critical thinking of students as the university is a place of knowledge. - FMT