Quizzify KUIS

Quizzify is apparently one of the top scoring Scrabble words and earns you up to 400+ points if played correctly. Now let's look at another KUIS.

Not so long ago (last week to be exact), we wrote about the falling standards of medical education, following an open debate in the mass media, between the Malaysian Director General of Health, Ismail Merican, and the Deputy Minister of Higher Education Fu Ah Kiow. Tony Pua , uber Malaysian education blogger, linked to it here and here (thanks for the links). The Director General was very concerned at the ballooning numbers of medical schools in the country and the falling medical standards.

Now we hear that the state of Selangor has decided to have a medical school as part of this latest institution of higher learning. It is amusing that the rector appointed, Datuk Haji Mohammed Isman, was most concerned about where to locate the teaching hospital. There was no mention about medical teaching staff, so vital to the success of a medical school.

They are still awaiting the MOH's development plan of new hospitals to see how to tie up with MOH hospitals as their training center. They are presently sharing a hospital at Kubang Kerian with Universiti Sains Malaysia.

The grand plan is to have a school of pharmacy (this makes sense), a nursing college (this also makes sense) and dental school. One really wonders where the teaching staff are coming from. I suppose they will be imported from external sources.

According to the press statement, this latest medical school will contribute towards the human capital development of our country. I wonder if rector Datuk Haji Isman is aware that we presently have 2,000 new doctors added into the country of 28 million, every year, and that there are presently 18 medical schools already. Has the Ministry of Higher Education ever considered that they could combine resources. By working together they may produce good quality doctors in reasonable quantities at lower cost.

When will we ever learn that we need a long term plan in higher education planning? This is not a numbers game and we need to produce doctors of sufficient quality for the nation. After all, isn't this a life a death matter?

I stand corrected when complaining about 18 medical schools. The number to complain about now is 19. I wonder how many more are awaiting annoucement.