Empower universities to make decisions, says PM

Warm reception: Najib attending the gathering with institutions of higher learning staff at Universiti Putra Malaysia in Serdang. He was accompanied by Idris. — Bernama

SERDANG: Universities need to be empowered to make their own decisions.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said it is important that certain decisions be made by public higher learning institutions (IPTAs) themselves to improve their efficacy.

“Empowerment means we give power (to the IPTAs) to make decisions on job promotions, positions and financial allocations,” the Prime Minister said when launching the Enhancing University Board Governance and Effectiveness playbook here.

The playbook is one of the five books to be used to further improve IPTAs under the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education).

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said the first playbook focuses on management administration as it is important to strengthen the administration in IPTAs before providing autonomy to support their transformation.