Advantages and Disadvantages of Employing Foreign Lecturers in Malaysia's Universities

Title Background information

Statement of issue Preview

Body Argument For 1

Body Argument For 2

Body Argument Against 1

The advantages and advantages of employing foreign lecturers to teach in Malaysia’s universities Higher education is the centre for generating knowledge to ensure the public is more knowledgeable because of a knowledge society will improve the economy and indirectly also improve the development of a country. Some local universities in Malaysia tend to employ foreign lecturers wholesale to win apex status and thus, influence their QS World University Ranking. When a university is accorded apex status, it will receive additional government funding to transform it into a worldclass university. However, it is often argued that employing foreign lecturers to teach in Malaysia’s universities has both advantages and disadvantages. While employing foreign lecturers to teach in Malaysia’s universities leads to healthy competition in terms of work quality and overseas lecturers bring the skills and knowledge of latest technology from their country to local universities, it also raises the issue that local students face the communication problem with the overseas lecturers and most of the foreign lecturers hired are from countries that are less-developed than Malaysia. The first advantage of employing foreign lecturers to teach in Malaysia’s universities is it leads to healthy competition in terms of work quality. For example, it increases the demand for research among foreign and local lecturers. Again, this is definitely a challenge to the local lecturers as the international lecturers come from a varied background with most of them possessing academic qualifications from different international universities. As a result, they pose a challenge to the local academic staff and this will develop stiff but healthy competition to upgrade and improve the quality of work amongst them, particularly in the areas of research and publication. Next, by employing foreign lecturers to teach in Malaysia’s universities is, overseas lecturers bring the skills and knowledge of latest technology from their country to local universities. Students gain the knowledge what will helps the students create the innovation instead follow the steps of other developed countries. The methods that used by the foreign lecturers in their teaching process can be a role model for the local lecturers and adjust it in order to improve the teaching methods and increases the interest of student in their learning process. This will be a contribution in the process to rise up the quality and standard of local education. The most obvious disadvantage of employing foreign lecturers to teach in Malaysia’s universities is the issue that local students face the communication problem with the overseas lecturers. The accent of overseas lecturers may be different with accent of what the local students learnt and familiar with since they were young. The different tone of voice that used by the lecturers cause the students feel not confident when they are talking or asking the questions to their overseas lecturers. The foreign accent that the local students are not familiar with makes the students lose their interest in their study and tend to not pay attention in

the class. This lead to negative effect in the learning process of the local students.

Body argument against 2

Another disadvantage of employing foreign lecturer to teach in Malaysia’s universities is that most of the foreign lecturers hired are from countries that are less-developed than Malaysia. The countries from which these lecturers originate are less developed and their policies have yet to be established, it makes people wonder of their talent if they are possibly being expected to teach about policy. Their approach and lack of factual teaching will jeopardize the standard of instruction in local universities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear that employing foreign lecturers to teach in Malaysia’s universities leads to healthy competition in terms of work quality and overseas lecturers bring the skills and knowledge of latest technology from their country to local universities, it also raises the issue that local students face the communication problem with the overseas lecturers and most of the foreign lecturers hired are from countries that are less-developed than Malaysia.

Recommendatio n

Although, advantages outweigh the disadvantages, human resource management should be wise so that local universities will gain more advantages when they employ foreign lecturers.