KUALA LUMPUR: An academician has expressed concern with the lack of industrial experience among local lecturers as it could affect the quality of graduates.
Former vice-chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Prof Tan Sri Dr Sahol Hamid Abu Bakar said such a situation could have a bad impact on the marketability of graduates to obtain job after they graduated from their studies.
“How can the graduates compete in their career when their knowledge is only on theory.
“Knowledge in theory alone is not enough to help students understand the ins and outs of working life, what more to produce holistic students,” he told Bernama recently.
Sahol Hamid, who is also chairman of the board of trustees for Yayasan Destini Anak Bangsa’, said this when asked to comment on the unemployment problem among local university graduates.
He said previously, lecturers possessed industrial experience and as such, they were able to guide their students to be more skilled in their field of study.
“In contrast, lecturers abroad understand what is happening in their industry, which enables them to impart industrial experience to their students. Thus, I hope Malaysia will also be capable of producing more experienced lecturers,” he added.
As such, he suggested that the Higher Education Ministry to conduct a study on the matter, including ways to overcome the problem.
He hoped all quarters could accept his views with an open mind in an effort to produce high-quality and more innovative graduates to meet the country’s needs. — Bernama