MALAYSIA: New bill to regulate higher education sector

A bill to empower the Higher Education Ministry to govern the institutions of higher learning is being promulgated, said Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, reports the official news agency Bernama. He said although there were provisions under six acts to regulate the management of higher education sector, they were piecemeal in nature and not comprehensive.

The National Higher Education Act bill, which will plug the loopholes, will be tabled in parliament after it is scrutinised by the Attorney-General's Chambers, he told reporters after launching a book on criminal law in Malaysia at the University of Malaya last week.

The provisions governing higher education institutions are stipulated in the University of Malaya Act 1961, the University and College University Act 1971, the Universiti Teknologi Mara Act 1976, the Private Institution of Higher Learning Act 1996, the National Council of Higher Education Act 1996 and the National Higher Education Fund Act 1997. But Khaled said since the formation of the Higher Education Ministry as a separate ministry from the Education Ministry in 2004, there was no specific law governing the higher education sector.
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