Do you really need a tourism university?

When I read this news, suddenly I feel like I want to cry. Why? Read the whole article :

PENANG: A tourism university is being planned at Balik Pulau to provide skilled workforce to meet the growth of the country's tourism industry as well as boost development of the Northern Corridor Economic Region.

Finance Ministry parliamentary secretary Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had approved the project and an announcement on the matter would be made soon.

“The university will be built to train the workforce needed in the tourism industry in our efforts to provide quality service to tourists.

“It will offer courses related to the travel industry like hotel and catering, service and transportation,'' he told reporters after the opening of the Balik Pulau Umno divisional delegates meeting yesterday.


Why the Government need to built a new university dedicated for tourism? Last time I check, UITM offered the course for students. If the Government really think the courses offered by UITM is low standard, the Government should provide more fund for UITM to upgrade the courses by hiring more professional lecturers and people who really know the industry well.

I'm not against building up a new university in Malaysia. But by adding new university, the Government need to add more fund or the current fund for universities will stretch to its limit. The cost for building up a new university is not RM 1 million but cost up to hundreds sometimes thousands million of ringgit. Why need to waste that much money in creating a new university? Why don't the government upgrade the existing ones?

Please, there are many Malaysian out there live below poverty line. At least can we cater about them for a while before building a university dedicated for tourism? And by having lots of universities will not make us a developed nation. Its the quality that really matters not quantity.

1 comment:

BPS said...

agree! govt idea to open a university is a waste of $. I prefer if they just create a university campus in Balik Pulau (eg. USM or UiTM Kampus Pelancongan etc.). A new university will require a new Canselor & Naib Canselor and lot's of new top management. For instance UiTM has 13 Campus and 6 City Campus. Luckily our kerajaan pandai, if not, we will have 19 new university with 19 new Naib Canselor.