CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction This chapter describes the background information of ranking issues within the context of higher education. This chapter contains nine parts. Section 1.1 contains the Background of Study. Subsection 1.1.1 involves Malaysian Government Education Plans whereas subsections 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 identify New Straits Times and World Ranking with all being located under the section 1.1 main text. Section 1.2 covers the Purpose of Study. Significance of Study forms section 1.3, followed by section 1.4 with the Research Questions. In section 1.5 covers the details of the Conclusion. 1.1 Background of study 1.1.1 Malaysian Government Education Plans Education has been proven to be a priority of the Malaysian Government through the extensive development of the academic infrastructure in the last half century. As the development of higher learning took place, the government adjusted departmental responsibilities in order to accommodate the resultant changes. To illustrate, “The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) was established on 27 March, 2004” in order to consolidate better the management of universities and colleges in the country (Ministry of Higher Education, 2009). The issue of rankings is included in the affairs of higher education matters, as reflected in The National Higher Education Strategic Plan of 2007. The National Higher Education Strategic Plan identified that the past role of the Ministry of Education was to facilitate government matters with the nation’s academic infrastructure. With the division of the department into the separate bodies of the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education, the responsibility of the latter now handles administrative tasks so the area of higher education within the country may have more focus for development. 1 The ministry’s site also included information that the official distinction of the Ministry of Higher Education as a separate entity happened on 27 March, 2004. In addition to the role of administering government policy, it was also required to assure that tertiary education in Malaysia “is in line with the vision of the government to make Malaysia a centre of educational excellence and to internationalise” the higher education facilities locally. Significant organisation has occurred to construct the path of Malaysian education in such a way that it becomes developed with the component of internationalized status as a primary part. While the ministry has clearly identified domestic interests are of foremost consideration, the inclusion of global elements into the institutional framework of academia has also been voiced. According to the National Higher Education Action Plan of 2007–2010 made available on August 27, 2007, the former Prime Minister Yab Dato’ Seri Abdullah Bin Haji Ahmad Badawi gave a message which indicated that the issue of education was a significant focus of attention and its developmental path was being directed from a nationally administrative position. One of the primary goals listed in the mission statement of the MOHE is to ensure that Malaysian Higher Education is internationalised. The former Prime Minister Yab Dato’ Seri Abdullah Bin Haji Ahmad Badawi stated in the introductory message of the National Higher Education Plan that both the National Mission and the Ninth Malaysia Plan focus on human capital development. The former Minister of Higher Education Dato’ Mustapa Mohamed elaborated on the necessity that "we must bear in mind that in this increasingly global era, Malaysia will be faced with many new challenges and our ‘rakyat’ must be well equipped to face and overcome them" and addressing these challenges could be aided by working on building up five key institutional pillars (National Higher Education 2 Action Plan 2007–2010:4). Governance, leadership, academia, teaching and learning, and research and development constitute the five areas of focus. Governance and leadership also involve the administrative role of the institutions. Three pillars deal directly with educational matters of academia, teaching and learning, and research and development. They contain critical information concerning the direction of Malaysian higher education. The aspect of academia in the Action plan is aimed to cultivate international contacts “through exchange programmes at all levels” (p.24). This includes working with other academic institutions and international companies to achieve these exchanges. Two primary goals indicated for the academic community to achieve within this proposed plan are regular publications in international high-impact journals in addition to a developed pedagogy and research reputation in order to ultimately enable Malaysian higher education to be "respected internationally as an education hub" (p.25). The Action plan also characterized through the teaching and learning focus that an internationalized higher education should be “benchmarked” alongside prominently recognized universities globally. The aspect of Research and Development also maintained the importance of Malaysia’s projected position as an educational hub by emphasizing the importance of knowledge creation. Elaboration on this initiative has indicated that international cooperation and incorporation of foreign faculty members is a proposed method of achieving this portion. One of the proposed results of these directives planned by the MOHE indicates an organized direction toward recognition, acceptance, and comparative status with the global academic community. This is reaffirmed through two of the desired outcomes of the Action Plan where the research universities of Malaysia are desired to become internationally-acclaimed, and five of the nation’s research and development centres achieve world renowned excellence. Alongside the establishment of national 3 universities with research status, the Action Plan includes the establishment of one or two Apex Universities to serve as examples of academic excellence. The specialized status of "an Apex University is a conceptual construct that in due time will stand atop the pyramid of institutions. The Apex Universities will be the nation’s centres of academic distinction" (p.35). As reflected in The National Higher Education Strategic Plan of 2007, institutions selected to receive recognition as an Apex university are required to include successful leaders, highly productive faculty, academically excellent students, and fully-equipped facilities. This category requires larger budgets and greater autonomy concerning the operation. Although the exclusive class for universities has been determined, criteria for classification have not been included in detail. The Star reported that "having apex universities is good for the country's branding as it will give us an international focus,” (“Reaching For The Top”, 2007). Inclusion of an Apex status for the universities in Malaysia may indicate that it is being employed for both internal and external reasons. From an international perspective, it appears that this will distinguish the class of universities accorded this distinction from the other institutions and hopefully attract talent from elsewhere. Internally, it has been mentioned by the higher education minister that it might encourage other institutions to work harder. Bajunid (2012) indicated in the New Straits Times that University of Malaya had been the only academic institution within Malaysia up until the 1960s. Since that time, in little more than 50 years, large-scale planning has been applied to expand the nation's academic infrastructure. Based on recent statistics from the Ministry of Higher Education official portal, the state of Malaysian academics has increased significantly. Currently, higher education opportunities in Malaysia include 20 public universities, 22 polytechnics, 37 public community colleges, 33 private universities and university colleges, 4 foreign university branch campuses and about 500 private colleges (Ministry 4 of Higher Education, 2009). The efforts to expand from only a single institution that existed 50 years ago with University of Malaya to what exists in the 21st century of Malaysia's higher education system indicates an achievement in working toward the goal of an international education hub. 1.1.2 New Straits Times The first paper put into publication was The Prince of Wales Island Government Gazette, which was started in Pulau Pinang, known as modern day Penang, in 1806 (Othman, 1992). Malaya's first printed news source sporadically remained in print until 1830 (Wade, 2002). Numerous other publications were in circulation during that time and eventually ceased production for equally numerous reasons. Fifteen years later, in 1845, the first issue of the Straits Times was printed and distributed as a weekly publication (The New Straits Times Press, 2013). Since the initial production of the Straits Times, many changes have occurred such as ownership, physical layout, and name, but the continuous transformations of this paper led to the form recognised today. The year was 1967 for when the current name was chosen in order to maintain compliance with the new Companies Act which became effective in 1966 and that was The New Straits Times (The New Straits Times Press, 2013). As Malaysia's oldest newspaper that has remained in publication, The New Straits Times is the second largest circulated English-language newspaper, second only to The Star (Audit Bureau of Circulations, 2013). Currently it is owned by Media Prima Berhad (Media Prima, 2013).