Public Unis - Shock and Awe

RM100 Million Down the Drain

A fall in 80 ranking spots and the VC goes "I'm not worried", 60000 graduates unemployed and now this.

While I will admit that the ranking system need not necessarily be legit, it is a problem when a VC says that he is not worried about a fall in the rankings. Though I am not in the country right now, I have been following this extraordinary piece of ongoings closely. Apathy and an easily-satisfied mentality are apparent here. Personally, I think that the VC isn't the only one who is suffering from this mentality but most Malaysian students. If the rankings aren't necessarily legit, I can understand if people say that they do not care. However, the way that they've been advertized and exploited have disgusted me.

UM Turned Into Pasar Malam Site

60000 graduates. Wow. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is, in some way, an example of Burke's theory of The Sublime. Reports from various Malaysian websites such as The Star, New Straits Times and Malaysiakini.com have concluded that some of the reasons why these graduates can't get jobs is due to lack of experience, poor command of the English language and poor communication skills. Among these 3 reasons, I think that the latter is the most worrying. This article from The Star expresses my view concisely.

Graduates Sing The Blues

There are plenty of students who score straight As for examinations. There are plenty of students who average 90% in their school examinations. However, and you must understand that this is personal sentiment, I find that the students that I respect the most are the ones who are able to voice out what they think logically and reasonably. When employers look around for possible employees, they don't just ask for your report card. The link below is about what employers look for when they're headhunting. Rather unsurprisingly, education isn't mentioned anywhere in the top 5 :-

10 QUALITIES INTERVIEWERS LOOK FOR

One possible argument that I can see arising is that if what the website says is true, why then do employers favor students from more 'big-name' universities. In my opinion, and anyone is welcome to challenge it, I think that that situation is true because to getting into this kind of universities requires a person to be an all-rounder with a significant level of maturity. Employers know that a person from 'big-name' universities is more likely to be more well-balanced and more of an all-rounder. Hence, it would not be unreasonable to begin headhunting from these universities. (Of course, there are some flukes here and there. Example : Me)