I've oftentimes dubbed many of the private universities and university colleges in Malaysia as 'graduate factories' cranking out degree holders of all kinds by the score, only for many of them to find themselves unemployable once they apply for jobs.
Interestingly enough, this is a problem also in countries like Australia and other Anglo Saxon countries which have embraced neo-liberal economic policies adopted since the time of Margaret Thatcher in the U.K. and Ronald Reagan in the U.S., as well also in some Third World countries. I have not heard of such reports coming from continental Western or Eastern European countries, from Japan, North Korea, South Korea or Cuba.
In his You Tube video entitled "University Education Is Losing Its Value" You Tuber who goes by the name Daily Rant Australia describes a very similar situation amongst Australia's universities after Australia implemented neo-liberal policies and the once sacred universities fell from grace and were debased by purely commercial profit motives, in competition for students whose fees paid enabled them to survive, whilst they race to the bottom.
It's also happening in the "almighty" United States of America, according to this almost two hour long video - College SCAM EXPOSED: Declining by Degrees - Higher Education at Risk Documentary
So today one needs a degree to get a job which any secondary school leaver with O Levels or what was called a Senior Cambridge in Malaysia or Singapore could get in the 1960s and then move up the ranks as one gains experience.
And, if one needs some specialised training, such as to be a teacher, a nurse, in accounting, a technical skill, a trade, one could either undergo a formal study programme whilst on the job leading to a certificate, a diploma or license to do a skilled job or through evening or correspondence courses.
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, after successfully completing Form 5, teachers in Malaysian schools would have to attend a teachers training college and earn a certificate or a diploma before they could teach and Kirby trained teachers were highly regarded back then and the standard of pre-independence Malaya's and later Malaysia's school education was high and teachers well respected by students and society.
Kirby College was established in 1951 in a suburb of Liverpool, UK by the government of pre-independence Malaya to train Malaya's school teachers in a two year programme. The Kirby Project ended in 1962.
Two of my aunts and an uncle were teachers and none had degrees, yet both aunts rose to become principal of their respective schools, whilst the uncle rose to become a much feared, yet well respected discipline master in his school in Ipoh.
Besides teaching, other school leavers found jobs in various fields and rose up the ranks. For example, after Form 5 in 1966, one of my cousins got a job with the printing firm Charles Grenier and intended to take a vocational course in printing but another opportunity knocked and he moved on to a job in aircraft maintenance and servicing with Malaysia Air Charter based at the old Subang Airport which flew small aircraft, then moved on to join the Qantas aircraft maintenance facility which maintained large civil airliners, including the Boeing 707. Some of his schoolmates joined too and after having learned on the job and earned their tickets and licenses in various aspects of airframe and engine maintenance, have now moved up the ranks to more senior positions with airlines in Malaysia and overseas. Unfortunately, that cousin passed away in a drowning accident whilst fishing at the young age of 25, which also cut short his career.
Back in 2010, I interviewed several of my St. Michael's Institution alumni who after having successfully completed their Form 5, went on to get jobs as aircraft technicians with what was then called Malaysia - Singapore Airlines and had risen up the ranks in Singapore Airlines today.
In 1972, one of my classmates in Upper 6 Form decided applied to become a pilot with Malaysia Singapore airlines instead of sit for his Higher School Certificate and from what I have heard, he rose to become a Captain of a Boeing 747 with Singapore Airlines before he left to go into business.
In 1968, my Singapore-born cousin who had completed his Senior Cambridge in Singapore, was conscripted into Singapore's military National Service and whilst there, decided instead to enlist for seven years with the naval arm of the Singapore Armed Forces, where he serviced and maintained marine diesel engines, earning certifications and licenses along the way and after completing his seven year term, he found work with several well regarded diesel engine suppliers, firstly as a service engineer and later in engine marketing and is now happily retired, with a splendid home with a swimming pool in Singapore.
Many veteran journalists entered the profession armed with a Senior Cambridge or its successor a Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM since 1970) and moved up the ranks to become editors, whilst some even did not a Senior Cambridge or SPM but learned on the job and rose in the ranks.
Many accountants back then undertook certificate and diploma course in accounting whilst on the job, finally ending up with professional qualifications in accounting.
Those aspiring to be secretaries undertook secretarial course, either on the job or at a college.
Of course, those who aspired to become professionals such as doctors, engineers, architects, economists, physicists, biologists, chemists and so forth had to undertake degree courses at universities and qualify.
After I graduated with a degree in electronics engineering in 1979, I found a job as a process engineer with National Semiconductor in the Senawang Industrial Estate about three months after I returned to Malaysia, so it has always puzzled me as to why today's graduates in IT and other disciplines need to undergo additional post-graduation industry training before they are employable. I later moved on into telecommunications and then into computer servicing, which was one of the longest phases of my career. I also liked writing, so at 40, I joined The Star where I wrote articles on information and communications technology and now in semi-retirement I write about business and economic developments in China, India and Malaysia, as well as the Belt and Road initiative for an online publication called Enterprise TV -
However today, one needs a degree to get into many jobs, which don't really need degrees and many employers find today's graduates lacking in various ways, so need retraining to be more relevant to the industry they are employed in.
I'm quite sure that if this trend continues, even toilet cleaners will require a fancy sounding degree such as "Bachelor of Science in Public Hygiene Facilities Management" to get the job. Hopefully the graduate factories won't pick up on this idea.
Education used to be sacrosanct, even when governments made education up to university free or very affordable for all but after neo-liberalism kicked in around the late 1970s and 1980s, education has become debased as a commercialised, profit-oriented, money making business.
CHARLES F. MOREIRA
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