‘Arrest poor quality of postgrads’

Quest for knowledge: Postgraduate education should only be attempted by those who could unwaveringly dedicate themselves to the pursuit. - 123rf.com

WHILE the government aims to produce 60,000 PhD graduates by 2023, the declining quality of Malaysian postgraduate education, particularly in the humanities and social sciences, is in need of serious introspection.

The primary problem besetting our postgraduate education is the lack of reading and ability to comprehend – particularly materials in English – among students.

That our postgraduate students are accustomed to modes of dependent instruction inherited from their undergraduate learning, which entails regurgitation of information, makes matters worse.

Such an approach to education deters the students from engaging in self-directed learning and independent thinking.

Crucial skills

Good postgraduate education cannot be realised unless undergraduate programmes lay the foundation of much-needed, crucial skills such as reading, writing, critical thinking, scholarship, constructing arguments, articulating complex ideas, and conducting independent research.

In Malaysia, as many undergraduate programmes are vocational and technical in nature, these skills have been taken for granted and in many cases, neglected altogether.

Because of serious gaps in their degree education, many Malaysian students encounter difficulties when they enrol in postgraduate programmes. Therefore, an improvement in the quality of postgraduate education cannot be gained without first improving the standards of primary and secondary schools, as well as undergraduate education.

Graduate on time (GOT)

The emphasis on GOT has increased the number of postgraduates at the expense of quality and substance.

The time frame given to postgraduate research students should vary from one subject area to another. For example, PhD candidates in the sciences may complete their programmes within a minimum of three years; however, it is unlikely that doctoral candidates in the humanities and social sciences would be able to complete their studies within that period because the reading and writing expected of such academic disciplines can be exceedingly rigorous and extensive.As a result of GOT, there are now local academics (even professors) who publish self-help type guidebooks on PhD thesis writing. These books carry titles like How to Write a Phd Thesis in Three Months and Get your PhD Degree in Just Six Months. These so-called academic shortcuts provide tips that promote and legitimise a lazy way out and a half-hearted attempt at reading and research. And it erodes the effectiveness of critical reading.

Methodology

Many Malaysian public universities have marginalised or totally discouraged non-scientific research approaches in favour of the “general” scientific approach while supervisors and examiners tend to fixate on research methodology, often at the expense of content. Research methodology has been prioritised as the be-all and end-all of a postgraduate thesis, which indicates ignorance of different research approaches and traditions.

I am not asserting that methodology is unimportant, but when it comes to specific research areas, approaches, focuses, and/or topics, methodology may become less important.

Academic integrity

The checks and balances that inform our tertiary education systems have brought into question the notion of academic integrity, especially with universities committed to minimising failure and student dropout rates.

Such practices demand that they tweak the numbers and force lecturers to grade on a bell curve to ensure impressive statistics for their key performance indicators (KPI).

I have served as an external examiner for postgraduate theses from several public and private institutions and in many cases, whenever a candidate’s work was given a “pass with major corrections” (due to the poor quality of work), I was asked and persuaded by the chair of the viva voce sessions to be more lenient and humane, and consider supporting the “pass with minor corrections” status.

Supervision

When it comes to thesis supervision, I am absolutely appalled by the number of postgraduate supervisees a supervisor can take.

Given that postgraduate supervision is taxing, challenging and time-consuming, how can we ensure that the postgraduate supervision quality is maintained when a supervisor, as in the case of a friend of mine, has 15 PhD supervisees?More alarming is the recruitment of students solely for income and ranking purposes, thus further exacerbating the prevailing issue of postgraduate supervision.

What is worrying is these students’ inability to communicate in simple English, even having to rely on a translator during the supervision session. Judging from their abysmal research proposals, many of them are doomed to fail from the outset.

Thus, postgraduate education should only be attempted by those who are well-prepared for, and could unwaveringly dedicate themselves to, the pursuit.

Postgraduate students must demonstrate their commitment to the search for knowledge and be immersed in a culture of inquiry.

The thesis or dissertation which they come up with should reflect their sense of maturity and independence as researchers and thinkers – an integral part of the ongoing process of their intellectual and spiritual development.

The Higher Education Ministry, top management of universities, and fellow academics must stop associating postgraduate education with numbers, quotas and rankings. Instead, attention must be paid to the quality of our students and of their work, and they must strive assiduously in ensuring that our universities move out of the area of mediocrity.

Until the whole education system in Malaysia witnesses a major overhaul – or at least until we address a range of issues at stake and commit to improving them – the standards and quality of our postgraduate education may be destined to decline even further.

DR NORMAN YUSOFF

Senior lecturer

College of Creative Arts

Universiti Teknologi Mara (Selangor branch)

Kampus Puncak Perdana