A rating system for private institutions of higher learning (IPTS) will be in place once all them have been audited.Deputy Higher Education Minister Dr Hou Kok Chung said the ministry had started an “establishment audit” since last month of 200 IPTS, including 37 private universities and university colleges.
This, he said, was to ensure that their courses were of quality and followed various regulations.He added that the exercise would see 120 institutions undergoing a full audit with officers going on the ground to check various facilities, while the remaining 80 would have to submit their details to the ministry.
“We will be looking at their staff, courses, student intake, examination process, management and financial capability among others,” Dr Hou told reporters yesterday after a meeting with senior executives of IPTS here.
This is the deputy minister's first meeting with senior executives of such institutions. The next will be in Penang on June 16.
According to Dr Hou, there were no immediate plans to give star ratings to IPTS as was being done for public universities under the Setara system, but it was the ministry's eventual goal to work along similar lines.
“This audit will help them improve their quality,” he said.
For instance, he pointed out, one area the ministry was focusing on was student intake as there had been complaints that IPTS had admitted students not qualified for certain courses.
To a question of students in rural areas of Sabah being cheated by some colleges, Dr Hou said the ministry would always check on advertisements by IPTS and act against those making dubious claims.
However, he urged parents to check the ministry’s websites for accredited colleges to avoid being cheated.
There are more than 500 IPTS in the country.
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