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Be careful when you sign up for online courses from foreign universities!

Feb 15, 2019

Image: MMU Malaysia

Some politicians have come under fire over their academic qualifications.

This has led to concerns among the public about whether their own degrees are genuine, or if their universities are accredited...

...Especially now, when there are so many colleges and online courses available.

As such the Education Ministry is urging the public to exercise caution when taking up online courses from universities abroad.

This is because the Private Higher Education Act does not regulate foreign unis.

The act is only applicable in Malaysia.

Higher Education Director General Datin Paduka Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir advises students going abroad to study, to check if their course is accredited on the Malaysian Qualifications Agency website.

In Malaysia, she says unis and colleges must ensure all courses they introduce  are accredited, before the first batch of students graduate.

Otherwise, the students' qualifications will not be recognised by the government.

The good news is,  the Education Ministry has been actively combating the mushrooming of private higher unis and colleges.

For the past 5 years, the number of such institutions has decreased to about 460, from over 500.

This is after it imposed a ban on new unis and colleges in 2013, and shut down non-competitive insitutions.

It has also asked the public to inform the ministry, if they come across unregistered institutions, for authorities to take action.