Consultant: Sarina Shariff (POLIMAS) ..from TPA`s Desk

..from TPA’s Desk
16 December 2013
Designed and Edited by : Azlida Ahmad (PTSS)
Consultant: Sarina Shariff (POLIMAS)
A group of youths had been taken to a reserved park.
A counted the number of trees, B tried to identify the type of
trees, C was seen climbing up a tree, D chopped down a small
tree…. In the next meeting, the president of Nature Society
asked the participants where they went and what they saw last
week. All said they went for a trip to see a lot of trees; some
were big, small, tall or short. Surprisingly, no one realised they
were actually in a forest.
A group of workers is seen busy with their tasks. A is
laying bricks which has exceeded his height, B is rendering the
floor as big as a tennis court, C is mixing sand and cement, D is
digging a hole… no less than 20 men are labouring themselves
hard at work. A senior man, wearing a big hat is seen giving
instructions to his men in turn. None of them knows or even
curious about the purpose of their tasks. As long as they get the
jobs done and get paid, they are content. What are these men
really doing? They are in the process of building a new
polytechnic. What is it for? It is to train our future humancapitals. The morale of both stories is, we should see both the
big picture as well as its details.
Similarly, in our institution, everyone is tasked to take up different
responsibility. Even though the academicians seem to be playing more significant
roles, the rest are no less important. Should they be no support from Maintenance,
ICT, Administrative and Accounting units, the lecturers’ work is impossible to get off
the ground. Imagine a car which is equipped with all the components and
accessories but has no brake. Would you risk driving it? If you study basic science,
the trees in a forest always compete against one another for sunlight. Such is
necessary to carry out the process of photosynthesis that produces nutrient for the
tree growth. That is why you see teak trees along our highway being planted close to
one another. Instead of growing sideways, each one will reach for the sky; hence a
longer log to be harvested. In the same spirit, polytechnics are required to compete
against one another; one is through an instrument called POLYRATE. The five
main criteria, the number of items audited and their percentage are as follow:
CRITERIA
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
NUMBER OF ITEMS
AUDITED
10
29
11
6
Students
Resources
Quality Management System
Programme and Community
Certification
Graduates Certification
Total
%
15.6
45.4
17.2
9.4
6
9.4
62
100
STUDENTS:
We always hear the expression, “Customer is King”. Imagine if we were to open a supermarket and there are no customers. We would need to close it down in no time. Similarly, the
main customers of our institution are the students. They are the raison d’etre for our existence. Logically, it is the first criteria in POLYRATE. POLIMAS, established in 1984, was originally
designed for 1200 students. After two subsequent expansions, the capacity was increased to 5000, for both full and part-time. By 2010, the enrollment breached 6000 including those
undergoing industrial training. The application to study at polytechnic is done through on-line. However, whether POLIMAS was the present students’ first choice, is uncertain. The smaller
group of part-timers come from the industries with the hope to upgrade their qualifications to diploma level.
Since the last few years, the polytechnic has done away with certificate level programmes. Currently, the minimum is diploma. Some polytechnics offers advanced-diploma and the
premier polytechnics will soon introduce degree programmes. To qualify for diploma studies, a prospective candidate generally needs to have 4 credits in their SPM qualifications. There are
some other conditions which are programme specific, such as free from colour vision deficiency, and possess pre-requisite subjects like arts and chemistry. By Malaysia Qualification Framework
(MQF) standard, diploma is classified as Level 4. The full terms and conditions to study in polytechnic are available on-line. On average POLIMAS enrolls 1500 and 1000 students for June and
December intakes respectively. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. No one knows exactly how many would show up to register. There were times we were flooded with freshies.
Probably, we need actuaries and super-computer to predict a more accurate intake the next time.
For merely RM200 per semester, the fee to study in polytechnic is among
the cheapest in the world. Should accommodation is required, they would be an
additional cost of RM10 per month. Although it hardly covers water and electricity
bills, the government believes the investment will yield good returns. To those who
are qualified, a study loan of RM5000 per year is provided by Perbadanan Tabung
Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN). It surely helps lessen the burden on the
parents or guardian. The number of scholarship and sponsors are still small, mainly
from certain states like Terengganu, Pahang and Perak. Some organisations like
Jabatan Zakat and Kuok Foundation provide some financial assistance too. More
effort should be taken to encourage companies and philanthropists to come
forward to invest in our youths.
Apart from the regular courses taken by each student
according to their respective programmes, co-curriculum is
considered important. It covers the first two semesters. The first is
AR101 (known as PoliBriged) which consists of 5 components and
considered mandatory. The second is AR201 which involves both
uniform and non-uniform-based clubs and sports/games. As an
example, the second semester students may choose one out of the
Major Jamil b. Senawi
available uniform-clubs, namely; Territorial Army (PSTD), Fire
Brigade, Red Crescent and Scout. They may also choose to be
involved in Sport Clubs like Football, Hockey, Rugby, Sepak Takraw, etc. Each club is
overseen by a supervisor. Tuesday afternoon is reserved for co-curriculum activities. After
the second semester, they may enroll in whatever club/sport they wish. Students’
involvement significantly contributes towards POLYRATE rating. In 2012, a total of 132
activities involving 7,392 students were recorded. Out of the 132 activities, 53 were held
together with external parties involving 1982 students. That is quite a massive undertaking
by the Co-curriculum Unit headed by Major Jamil b. Senawi.
Each polytechnic is assigned to lead Specialised Game. For POLIMAS, it is softball. The pitch is of world standard. At the moment there
are only three such pitches in Malaysia. For the last few years, we have been hosting International Softball Games which has attracted Singapore,
Indonesia and Thailand. More effort is needed to attract the Philiphines, Brunei, Vietnam and other Asean countries. Equally important our team
must also take part in their circuits. One day we must invite the Japanese to come over because it is the most popular game in their country. They
have been playing it for over 100 years. In November 2013, our team played in the game hosted by Rajamangala Songkhla University, Thailand, led
by Saiful Nazli @ Ujang Selamat with two coaches and 10 players. The financial allocation by our headquarters made it a reality. Thank you. Locally,
we have been inviting various clubs to play at our venue. Starting from 2014, POLIMAS will not only represent Department of Polytechnic
Education (JPP) niche area in softball but has been upgraded to Ministry of Education (KPM) status.
The other established activity in POLIMAS is Territorial Reserved Army (PSTD) which comes under the purview of Territorial Army 513, Tok Jalai. We have witnessed how it is ably
led by successive commanders: Captain Rahim Ishak, Captain Riam Chau Mai, Major Jamil Senawi and currently, Major Abdul Rahman Saad. They have taken part in many occasions including
Guard-of-Honour during convocation, Merdeka Parade and annual MalPtacc, to name a few. Our new line of leaders are Lt Md Nasir Safar, Lt Mohmad Zaki Othman, LtM Roslee Uyob, LtM
Mohd Khairi Shafie and LtM Mohd Rizal Abdullah. POLIMAS PSTD became the overall champion in MalPtacc 8/13 held at Politeknik Seberang Prai from 8 – 20 November 2013. With the
succession plan in order, we will remain the best team among all polytechnics in Malaysia.
As a measure of success, we should not be too happy within our own turf. How are we rated at district, state, national and international levels? The recognitions of our students by
external bodies and institutions should confirm our standing. The records must properly be kept as proof to the auditors. We may start small at the district level, then improve to the next
level with confidence. As a saying goes, target is a journey, not a destination. In 2012, we received 7, 17 and 6 recognitions from state, national and international levels respectively.
:
At the moment, POLIMAS is offering 15 diploma-level programme; 5 in Civil Engineering, 2 in
Electrical Engineering, 5 in Mechanical Engineering, 2 in Commerce and 1 in Information and
Communication Technology. The duration for every programme is 6 semesters with about 90 credit-hours.
The total number of courses across all the discipline is 682. It needs quite sizeable resources in term of
space, building, facilities, tools and finance. The location of POLIMAS is very strategic. It is situated along a
road declared as Jalan Ilmu (Knowledge Road). Our neighbours are all institution of studies; Institute
Aminuddin Baki (IAB), Institute Pendidikan Guru (IPG) and Institut Latihan Perindustrian (ILP). What is the
size of POLIMAS campus? It is 70 acres or 283,280 square metres of prime land of which 67,463 of it is
occupied by building leaving the rest for recreation and other uses. An area of 4,260 square metres are used
for cafeteria, gazebo, covered parking lots, prayer hall (surau) or as such while 63,203 square metres for
formal teaching and learning facilities like office, lecture room/theatre, laboratory, workshop, library and
hall.
One of the most important facilities in an institution is the library. Being an old polytechnic,
POLIMAS envy the size of new polytechnic libraries. Ours is only a two-storey building with 572 square
metre build-up area. The number of seats at any time is 193. Every time as final examination approaches,
the capacity is insufficient that we have to extend the operation time. Since the last few semesters, an area
of 10,966 square metres could access internet services through wireless technology. Now the area has been
increased to 41,110 square metres. The number of computers made available in all laboratories and offices
has soared up to 674 units. An amount of RM236,416 is allocated to servicing the equipment and licensing.
What about games and sport facilities? POLIMAS has a hockey and football field which can be
doubled up to play rugby and track. The hockey field will be upgraded to be of the turf kind. Popular game
like badminton and table tennis are normally played in the hall. Squash has its own indoor court. POLIMAS
offers outdoor basketball, netball, futsal, sepak-takraw and tennis courts. Since the young generation like to
play futsal, 4 new courts are upgraded to make it a multi-purpose court for tennis as well as futsal. In 2012,
the students’ satisfaction index with regards to our facilities was 3.85 out of 4.00 points. That is quite an
achievement.
R
E
S
O
U
R
C
E
S
POLIMAS is a fully funded government institution. It means the
operating and development expenditure are borne by the government
through the Ministry of Education. The allocation is used to cover salary,
utilities, supplies, asset procurement and students’ activities. The overall
budget hovers around RM38 million a year or slightly more than RM3
million a month or RM100,000 a day. That is a lot of money!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
For students’ activities, the budget comes under Vot42000. It is
used to pay allowances and supports their activities. The activities cover
Teaching & Learning, Students Representative Council, Entrepreneurship,
Debate, Softball etc. In 2012, a total of RM2,689,745 was spent for such
purposes.
7.
8.
9.
Number of academic staff (full time)
Number of academic staff with doctoral
and master degrees
Number of academic staff with
professional qualifications
Number of academic staff with more
than 5 years teaching experience
Number of academic staff having
industrial experience more than a year
Number of academic staff having
experience in other institutions
The number of days academics staff
undergoing training in 2012
The number of working paper presented
in 2012
The number of external recognition
received in 2012
448
147
PERCENTAGE
32.8
27
6.0
349
77.9
81
18.1
6
1.3
7605
-
77
-
20
-
The success of the institution depends very much on our lecturers who
carry out Teaching & Learning in class, laboratory and workshop. It may
also involve field trips, industrial visits, surveys, etc. as per curriculum.
Look at the statistics…
The number of students recorded 6261 and 5664 in June and December Sessions 2012 respectively. On average, the enrolment is 5963. The
ratio of academic staff to students is 13.3. Some of these academic staff are in the administrative or teaching with less number of hours per week.
Considering only the full-time teaching staff (398), the average ratio is at 15.0. That is about the standard set by Civil Service Department or Jabatan
Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA). The other figures stated are improving. More academic staff are pursuing both Masters and PhD degrees. The percentage
of senior staff is very high (77.9%), hence they are more experience in conducting lesson, research and development and other related tasks.
QUALITY
Management
system:
POLIMAS has adopted quality management system for many years. Initially it was MS-ISO-9000:94 under MAMPU before changing to MSISO-9001:2008 under SIRIM. On 2 September 2013, SIRIM carried our Recertification Auditing which we passed with flying colours. The scope for
Teaching and Learning covers 11 areas as follow:
NO
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
The two biggest components of the above are POLIMASPK-PPP-05 (Teaching & Learning Process) and POLIMASPK-PPP-08 (Examination Management Process). It is the
bread and butter of our business. POLIMAS-PK-PPP-05 is
further sub-divided into 8 components as follow:
DOCUMENT NUMBER
POLIMAS-PK-PPP-01
POLIMAS-PK-PPP-02
POLIMAS-PK-PPP-03
POLIMAS-PK-PPP-04
POLIMAS-PK-PPP-05
POLIMAS-PK-PPP-06
POLIMAS-PK-PPP-07
POLIMAS-PK-PPP-08
POLIMAS-PK-PPP-09
POLIMAS-PK-PPP-10
POLIMAS-PK-PPP-11
NO
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
TITLES
Teaching & Learning Plan
Time-tabling
Student Registration
Student Orientation Week (MSK)
Teaching & Learning Process
Co-curriculum Management
Industrial Training Planning & Implementation
Examination Management Process
Student Welfare, Activity & Discipline Management
Teaching & Equipment Process Assessment
Course Registration
DOCUMENT NUMBER
POLIMAS-AK-(PK-PPP-05)-01
POLIMAS-AK-(PK-PPP-05)-02
POLIMAS-AK-(PK-PPP-05)-03
POLIMAS-AK-(PK-PPP-05)-04
POLIMAS-AK-(PK-PPP-05)-05
POLIMAS-AK-(PK-PPP-05)-06
POLIMAS-AK-(PK-PPP-05)-07
POLIMAS-AK-(PK-PPP-05)-08
TITLES
Lesson Plan
Preparation & Implementation of Lecture
Preparation & Implementation of Practical
Preparation & Implementation of Project
Student Attendance Monitoring
Class (course) Replacement
Continuous Assessment Implementation
Student Academic Achievement Analysis
For the purpose of POLYRATE auditing, it is suffice to prove that we have fulfilled
the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM INCLUDE:
Teaching & Learning Activities
Safety and Health of Workers
Problematic Students
Supports facilities like library, etc.
YES/NO
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Another important area under Quality Management System concern external assessors, as follows:
NO.
1.
2.
3.
4.
NUMBER OF:
Programme having external assessors
Niche programme having external assessors
Programme having industrial advisors
Niche programme having industrial advisors
QUANTITY
0
0
0
0
The points scored are hardly impressive. It is not that we do not have advisors and assessors but our understanding with the auditors differ. We will have to sort out the issue soon.
PROGRAMME
and
COMMUNITY
RECOGNITION:
GRADUATES
RECOGNITION:
For the fourth criteria, some simple data are required. It is about the number of programmes accredited by MQF, short courses carried out,
collaboration with the industries through MoU or as such. The only contention is the number must be reasonable and sustainable over a long period of time.
Some of the issues are within the jurisdiction of our own polytechnic but some are subjected to the head quarter’s approval. Below are some sample data
audited:
NO.
NUMBER OF:
QUANTITY
1.
Programme listed under MQF
15
2.
Short courses carried out
7
3.
Different short courses carried out
4
4.
Outsiders taking up short courses
65
5.
Active MoU with industries and Higher Institutions
9
6.
Activities under MoU, collaboration note, and technology transfer
10
When the students finish their studies, they have two choices: to seek employment (or be self-employed) or to continue their studies. The fifth
criteria in POLYRATE is pertaining our students’ status six months after graduation. The government also encourages our graduates to be entrepreneurs. It
would be beneficial if there is a mechanism to find out the employers’ satisfaction. Should our graduates be honoured by external parties then we would score
some points too. The number of our graduates in 2012 was 1974, which was a steady consolidation in the past 4 years. The following are the 6 items audited
under Graduates Recognition:
NO.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
ITEM
Number of graduates employed after 6 months
Number of graduates working as per qualification
Number of graduates becoming entrepreneurs
Number of graduates in 2012
Number of external recognition to the graduates
Graduates Quality Satisfaction index by employers
Prof. Madya Dr. Nor Aziah Abd. Manaf (UUM)
QUANTITY
1037
251
27
1901
Prof. Dr. Nor Kamariah Noordin (UPM)
POLYRATE is audited once a year. For 2012, the panels for POLIMAS were Prof. Dr. Nor Kamariah Noordin (UPM) and Prof. Madya Dr. Nor Aziah Abd. Manaf (UUM). They were assisted by an
officer from Jabatan Pengajian Politeknik (JPP), Pn. Nooriza Ibrahim. The auditing was done on 17 November 2013. The management would like to express sincere thanks to every one for their
contribution. We hope POLIMAS will one day be granted Tier-5 status for POLYRATE.
Footnote: The final editing of this article is done at Room 611, Kedah Medical Centre, Alor Setar, Kedah on 15 December 2013.
My 78 year old mother was diagnosed with mild stroke two days ago. I hope and pray that she will recover soon.