10 polytechnics receive golden awards from APACC

KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 -- Ten local polytechnics received the gold award accreditation from the Asia Pacific Accreditation and Certification Commission (APACC), the sole accreditor for technical education and vocational training (TVET) institutions in the Asia Pacific region.

The Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE), in a statement today, announced that the recognition by APACC had proven that Malaysian polytechnics could compete internationally.

“This recognition is a benchmark for the excellence of TVET-stream institutions in the Asia Pacific region in terms of quality, accountability and public trust in polytechnics in Malaysia.

“It also proves that Malaysia has a high quality group of institutions and sees efforts to put TVET in the mainstream. This is an effort to ensure that polytechnics have a talented group of people of high skills, ”the statement said.

According to the statement, the accreditation was a recognition based on seven criteria that must be met.

Among the criteria were in the areas of governance and management, teaching and learning, human resources, research and development, image and sustainability, educational resources and student support services.

In addition, nine of the ten polytechnics that received the APACC gold accreditation were listed in the top ten of the 26 institutions of member nations that received the Gold Award.

APACC is an accreditation body under the Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC) headquartered in Manila, Philippines. APACC, established in Seoul, South Korea in December 2004, is comprised of 17 countries in the Asia Pacific region.

The polytechnics which received the acreditation recognitions were:

1. Politeknik Ibrahim Sultan (PIS),
2. Politeknik Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah (POLISAS),
3. Politeknik Ungku Omar (PUO),
4. Politeknik Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah (PSA),
5. Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah (PSAS),
6. Politeknik Kota Bharu (PKB),
7. Politeknik Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah (POLIMAS),
8. Politeknik Seberang Perai (PSP),
9. Politeknik Kuching Sarawak (PKS),
10. Politeknik Port Dickson (PPD) 

-- BERNAMA