University Don: It's Not Our Fault

Ewww... there was a short article in the New Straits Times last week which quoted Professor Datuk Ibrahim Ahmad Bajunid of Universiti Tun Abdul Razak (UNITAR) that "Graduates should not blame the university for being unemployed. It is the individual's own responsibility to master skills required for gaining employment."

Errr... while I agree that graduates are responsible for their own employment status, to argue that the university is totally blameless and not responsible for their graduates' employability is equally irresponsible.

The whole idea of institutions of higher learning today is to provide an environment for its students to acquire knowledge, cultivate critical thinking skills and harness their personal potentials through interaction, guidance and teaching by experienced and competent university academics. It is only when the university has executed its responsibilities in a competent manner, can they then claim that it is no longer their responsibility to ensure employability.

However, as far as I can tell, and I believe most readers will agree, the top Malaysian universities are not yet able to fully disclaim responsibility, much less the 2nd and 3rd tier universities.

Hmmm... so since there is no one else to blame without implicating themselves for the 80,000 unemployed graduates, blame the graduates! Easy.