KUALA LUMPUR: Lecturers want greater respect, fairer career opportunities and stronger protection against abuse of power as Malaysia prepares to overhaul its higher education system.
With the planned repeal of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (AUKU), academics hope the reforms will be an opportunity to address longstanding grievances over promotions, university management and staff welfare.
A senior professor at a university on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia lamented the declining respect for educators, saying higher education policies had focused heavily on students while overlooking lecturers.
She claimed that lecturers who had dedicated decades to teaching and research were sometimes denied career advancement, while complaints to the Higher Education Ministry failed to resolve their grievances.
