The signing of the Memorandum of Agreement

Kuala Lumpur, 14 January 2010 - Today, UCSI University, together with 40 other colleges and Universities signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Ministry of Health to collaborate and improve accessibility, efficiency and quality in the delivery of health services through education for the fields of nursing and health sciences. UCSI University was represented by Associate Professor Dr. Lachman Tarachand, Group Executive Officer for the UCSI Group and Prof. Lee Chai Buan, Vice President of Academic Affairs, while representatives from the Ministry of Health were Secretary General, Dato’ Sri Haji Mohd. Nasir bin Mohd. Ashraf and the Deputy Director General of Health (Medical), Datuk Dr. Noor Hisham bin Abdullah. The MoA ceremony was witnessed by Y. B. Dato’ Sri Liow Tiong Lai, Malaysia’s Minister for Health.

The MoA will ease the lack of facilities and access to available resources at government facilities for the clinical training of UCSI University students who are pursuing their degree in Nursing. The integrated agreement with individual institutions stipulates that the Ministry of Health will make available resources as well as monitor the progress of students placed at such government facilities. The clinical training provided for the students will also expose them to real world settings, and introduce them to potential employment places once they graduate.

According to Y. B. Dato’ Sri Liow, the MoA is part of the government’s efforts to improve education quality, and to provide adequate space for each student to undertake their clinical training. “The Ministry of Health is committed to providing students from both private and public institutions of higher learning places for their clinical training.” Y. B. Dato’ Sri Liow also said that according to projected statistics for 2010, the manpower needed for the health sciences sector would reach 144,544. In Malaysia, the current nurse to resident ratio is 1:329, while the ratio recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) is 1:200. The government targets a ratio of 1:198 by 2015.

While UCSI University students currently receive their clinical training in various government facilities, work is already underway to build UCSI University’s teaching hospital in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. After receiving approval from the state government, the proposed hospital project will take off soon. In the future, the hospital will provide clinical training to all students from the Faculty of Medical Sciences and Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.