New academic year in September
Getting over the initial hiccups, the Higher Education Ministry has clarified that the new academic calendar is in the best interest of all parties.
HIGHER Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin was looking to make a bright start to the New Year.Recharged after a holiday, the minister was already looking ahead to 2011.
There would be no shortage of talking points in the first half of the year and some of them pertained to Malaysia’s steady ascension as a regional education hub.
Good news aside, there was also an important announcement to make – one that had been in the works since 2009.
However, all that could wait – it being New Year’s Day. The hard work would start soon enough.
But first, the long flight home.Fast forward 13 hours later and Mohamed Khaled was bemused to be greeted by numerous reports on the new academic calendar which would begin in September – the very announcement he was supposed to make.
News of the calendar switch had leaked and reports of confusion amongst undergraduates began to surface.
Although Mohamed Khaled first announced possible changes in the academic calendar in December 2009, the move caught many students unawares despite notices that were handed out to universities nationwide.
Senior sources in the ministry said that Mohamed Khaled was set to announce the move in his New Year’s Day message to the ministry on Jan 17, along with its underlying rationale.
However, the way things panned out scuppered plans and the ministry was suddenly on the back foot.
A “clear the air” session involving representatives from public and private higher education institutions was organised but Mohamed Khaled decided to act by holding a specially-called press conference before things got worse.
There was no point delaying as the damage had already been done, and while the calendar switch was indeed correct, the rationale which led to it was not transmitted sufficiently.
According to the original blueprint, the synchronisation of Malaysia’s academic calendar – to mirror countries in the northern hemisphere – would be a stage-by-stage process.
Such implementation would give universities and students sufficient time to prepare for the move, avoiding any unforeseen administrative errors.
Under the original plan, new students would start their semester on July 25 this year; and August 13 in 2012; before a permanent September 2 date was reached in 2013. Old students would start their semesters a week later.However, Mohamed Khaled said the timing of the move coincided with the fasting month of Ramadhan.
