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Local higher education institutions (HEIs) are advised to brand their students with their own identity and uniqueness. Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), Professor. Datuk Dr. Mohammad Shatar Sabran said one of the uniqueness that can be branded by Malaysian students is mastery of three or four languages in addition to soft skills and excellence in their respective fields of study. He added that academic qualifications alone do not guarantee that graduates will be able to get job opportunities because, in general, there are now many graduates who have good academic qualifications. The added value of graduates in the form of alternative skills is very necessary and mastery of a foreign language is something that should be considered. "Students are encouraged to complete themselves by mastering three languages after Malay or their respective mother tongue. "The mastery of a foreign language is one of the advantages students must have in today's challenging world, for example a third or fourth language such as Mandarin, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, German and so on," said Dr. Mohammad Shatar. According to Shatar, students cannot hope that academic qualifications through a degree will help them succeed in their careers in the future, following the increasingly challenging times. The opportunity can be taken advantage of through the mastery of various foreign languages, thus opening up the opportunity to work in international companies, multinationals or work abroad, penetrating the global labor market. "IPTs can start an initiative to choose a foreign language that they want to use as a foreign language so that eventually it will become a habit among employers if they want to find graduates who are proficient in a certain language, they can go to the IPTs involved." "IPTs and local graduates will certainly be able to be promoted to a more proud level in the global higher education arena and become sought after by employers to find new talent in their companies," explained Shatar. Commenting further, society needs to recognize that language diversity is a valuable asset that can enrich and strengthen the country's higher education position in the international arena. "If this matter can be achieved comprehensively, surely the effort to make Malaysia a hub of talent and knowledge or a center of universal knowledge will be realized in line with the wishes of the Minister of Education, Datuk Seri Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir," he stressed. |
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Source from: Berita RTM
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