KOTA SAMARAHAN: The Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) and Ministry of Health (MoH) are taking immediate steps to resolve a technical issue involving the recognition of pharmacy degrees affecting four Malaysian students at Alexandria University in Egypt.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir said the issue arose after the university changed the programme title from Pharmacy to PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) without notifying the relevant Malaysian authorities.
The change caused confusion with the Malaysian Pharmacy Board under the MoH, which is responsible for recognising medical and pharmacy qualifications.
“I do not intend to blame any party and I hope the matter can be resolved. It is more of a technical issue involving the name of the course.
“Previously, it was known as the Pharmacy programme, but it was changed to PharmD, or Doctor of Pharmacy. The university should have informed the Malaysian government, the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), or the Pharmacy Board regarding the change,” he said.
Zambry said although only four students were affected, the ministry remained committed to assisting them and had been working on the matter for several months.
“I have contacted the Health Minister to facilitate the resolution process, while MQA has been instructed to assist with the documentation, as the university’s Pharmacy programme was previously recognised without any issues,” he said when met by reporters after launching the MySISWA@Job on Campus (MySISWA@JoC) programme for Malaysian public universities at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) here on Monday (Jun 9), as reported by TVS.
Meanwhile, one of the affected students, Mariatul Karimah Ishak, 23, expressed concern as initial checks on KPT’s official website showed that the programme at the institution was recognised.
She explained that her official offer document from KPT stated she would be pursuing a Pharmacy degree, but the university had upgraded its syllabus in 2019 to the Clinical Pharmacy-based PharmD system.
“I was shocked and worried because I initially thought everything had been guaranteed. When I was informed that the PharmD programme was not recognised, it affected my future plans to some extent,” she said.
The issue was highlighted alongside the launch of MySISWA@Job on Campus, a strategic initiative by KPT and the Malaysian Public Universities Graduate Employability and Career Council (MyGRAD) aimed at providing flexible on-campus employment opportunities to help students supplement their income.
