Are Our Varsities Still Relevant?

Are Our Varsities Still Relevant?

By: Prof Datuk John Anthony Xavier

Published in: New Straits Times, Wednesday 20 August 2014

OUR universities play an indispensable role. They are factories for the country’s

talent, ideas and innovation. Thereby, they contribute to economic growth. Their

teaching nurtures impressionable and young minds to become better citizens and

future leaders.

The impact of a university education on the student’s intellectual capacity is

enormous. It expands minds and the capacity for thinking and comprehension. One

can readily sense the contribution of each progressive level of academic study to the

intellectual capacity of an individual. Universities improve cultural and political

understanding by offering a safe environment for dialogue and debate. With their

democratisation, universities have become vehicles for social mobility.

Cardinal Newman had this to say of a university education: “A university… raises the

intellectual tone of society… It gives a man a clear conscious view of his own

opinions and judgments, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing

them and a force in urging them.”

However, recently, amid scepticism of their value and accusation of government

meddling, universities are seen as increasingly less relevant to society. Despite their

elaborate strategic plans, and that of the government, our universities are perceived

as institutions without a clear sense of purpose and direction and that they have

degenerated into diploma mills.

Take the case of graduate unemployment. Despite the country enjoying full

employment, one quarter of our graduates, or 52,000 of them — mostly from public

universities — go unemployed.

Despite their latest equipment, research at universities rarely fulfils industry needs.

Mostly pursued by individual researchers, research is meant to fulfil their KPIs than

to advance the cause of society. Buckets of money are poured into research with

little societal impact.

So the question, “Are our universities still relevant?” is a justifiable one.

The tightening of the public purse and limits on tuition fees have driven public

universities to seek additional funding from endowments and consultancies. Stefan

Collini, in his book What Are Universities For? frowns at the idea of universities being

made to partly defray their costs. Rather than being caught in the web of

marketisation, universities must guard against the erosion of academic freedom.

Relatedly, John Finnis, the Australian philosopher, in his book Natural Law and

Natural Rights argues that one of the seven basic human goods that man ought to

pursue for its own sake for a worthwhile life is knowledge.

Such assertions have merit. Notwithstanding, a growing country like ours cannot

afford the luxury of pursuing knowledge for its own sake alone. Knowledge must also

be pursued for its instrumental value. It must contribute to societal growth. The reality is that taxpayers fund the universities. Rather than seeing academia going on

a frolic of its own, taxpayers want immediate and more quantifiable returns on their

investments.

So how can universities live up to the high expectations reposed in them? The first

task is to make university education functional.

In its recent issue, the Economist highlighted that the system of education in

universities has remained the same since Aristotle taught at his school in Athens.

That was over 2,000 years ago! Since then time and circumstance have changed.

Yet, universities have done little to improve their system of education.

The writing is on the wall. Graduates remain unemployed because they lack the

skills to make them relevant in the workplace. They lack language and soft skills and

industry-related competences.

So, of immediate concern to a university, therefore, is to review its curriculum.

Universities have to consult with businesses and community leaders to map out the

skills required of their graduates. They have to then jointly overhaul curriculums to

train graduates in the requisite skills.

That should not mean the universities should give up on the broad education that is

their high calling. An academic education must be all-rounded. An all-rounded

education will surely make graduates more employable.

There must be a dollop of science in the arts discipline. Vice versa, a dose of the

humanities should be injected in the study of the sciences. The crunchier sciences

impart the needed skills in society while the humanities help students to understand

society itself. Take history for example. Arnold Toynbee, the great historian, says

that history is crucial to understanding our present and to carve out a better society.

The humanities help us to understand why we are different, what binds us to a

common destiny and why our society is ordered the way it is. They help understand

culture that provides meaning to all our actions. They fortify our spiritual anchor.

Without the humanities we risk being incapable of the judgment needed to function

as a human being.

All-roundness also implies that our students engage in extra-curricular activities —

from the robust play of sports to the intellectual discourse of debates. Such activities

will prepare them to withstand the hard knocks that society will deliver when students

find their rightful place therein.

All-roundedness also requires students to appreciate the practice of their disciplines

through attachments in related organisations. As Lenin once remarked, “Theory

without practice is pointless; practice without theory is mindless.”

To impart the needed skills, nurture better citizens and leaders of tomorrow and to

prepare them for the school of hard-knocks may require longer years of tertiary

education. If the current period of undergraduate education has to be expanded to accommodate these features of university education then that is the price to pay for

its increased relevance.

The academic environment too would need to offer greater stimulation to young

minds. There are two ways to going about this. First, greater academic freedom and

increasing diversity through increased recruitment of foreign academics and students

will expose our students to knowledge beyond their books and profit from the diverse

experiences and viewpoints.

Second, our universities should forge regular collaboration and exchange of faculty

with other leading universities. These connections can contribute to the overall

quality of education while serving as a magnet for international students to choose

Malaysia as their destination.

There has been progress on these fronts. The reforms should continue.

john@ukm.edu.my

Source : http://www.iais.org.my/e/index.php/publications-sp-1447159098/articles/item/download/395_c7f7cada304ecdf2e885b264a226d2bf.html