Malaysian VC remarks about teacher-student sexual relationships is just the tip of the iceberg
Its time to rid universities of this form of corruption
The reported remarks by Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka’s (UTeM) Vice Chancellor Massila Kamalrudin about relationships between academic staff and students is just the tip of the iceberg in ethics breaches in Malaysian universities.
Massila was reported to comment that academic staff and students having sexual relationships should suppress it from public view. “if you want to flirt, even with the dean, do it outside”.
Sexual relationships between teachers and students are not only a breach of professional ethics, such behaviour damages the whole system of trust between, destroying any dignity and respect. Such relationships are totally outside the boundary of any codes of ethics that any reputable institute of higher learning would have governing their organizations.
This is also a sign of the disintegration of social ethics in wider society, if such practices are condoned and allowed.
Tip of the iceberg
Massila advising more discreetness in academic staff-student relationships are much more widespread than UTeM in Malaysia. Stories went around during my academic career that a vice chancellor took on a foreign student as a second secret second wife, and was given scholarships and privileges far beyond other students.
Foreign female students have long been easy prey for male academic staff in universities. Many use the ‘pay to play’ ploy to obtain sexual favours from students to pass. In some cases, academic staff are offered such favours by students to pass or gain higher marks in courses.
Unfortunately, such practices are much wider than many believe. The practice of academic staff keeping their office doors open when female students consult with them is just not enough. Weak and unethical academic staff find it too easy to use their power to take advantage of students, or be taken advantage of. Some have even been blackmailed by students after been involved in sexual relations with students.
While some academic staff take sexual advantage of female students, stories also have surfaced of supervisors asking money from foreign male students to pass their courses, and/or thesis. These practices rarely come to light, as foreign students most often just desperately what to pass and gain their aspirated qualifications to move on in life. These practices occur mostly with powerless and vulnerable foreign students, but not restricted to just the foreign cohort.
Such practices described above should be not just considered as a breach of ethics but a form of bribery. Unfortunately, under Malaysian law, with no money changing hands, the practice is outside the jurisdiction of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Malaysian universities don’t act upon any of these types of accusations due to the fear of loss of reputation.
Massila has opened the door on one of the dark sides of Malaysian higher education. Such practices have also been reported in Malaysian secondary schools before. Although the Ministry of Education has said there is zero tolerance for such behaviour in education, the latest comments by a vice chancellor indicate that a blind eye to the problem is still continuing, as universities protect their reputations.
Its time for the minister of higher education Zambry Abdul Kadir to act. He can start by finding a new vice chancellor for UTeM.
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Unless of course there is firm and admissable evidence of such conduct by academic staff and students at any university, there is little one can do but to speculate and rely on third hand hearsay (gossip). There can be no doubt that such transactional conduct between adult males and females do occur at campuses worldwide. And it is not simply restricted to sexual favours alone in exchange for academic compromises. The culture of compromise goes beyond that.
The highly acclaimed documentary showing on Netflix titled "College Admission Blues" exposes a well documented culture of cash for degrees at even the most highly credentialed and reputed institutions of higher learning as Harvard University. An investigation confirmed that graduating undeserved students based on loopholes within the system in exchange for millions of dollars in "fees" has been rampant over a period of time.
Harvard is not alone in this regard. Many other institutions of higher learning from University of London (the euros 1.5 million payment to secure a PhD for Saif Al Islam Gadaffhi) is another example.
Cambridge and Oxford, Monash and Melbourne, Sydney and NSW have all had their fair share of socio academic corruption leading ultimately to the undermining of the integrity and reputation of the universities concerned. In the Malaysian context, the children of Sultans and their spouses are readily identified as recipients of such favours. In fact the British government tolerates it as part of their special arrangements with countries such as Malaysia.
In Sydney and Melbourne, the flirtatious conduct of students from south east Asia and mainland China is well documented. There have been confidential internal circulars directed at academic staff at universties in Australia's main universities at both these ities to exercise restraint whn confronted with such a situation.
The conduct has gone beyond flirting alone. Sex for favours is no longer the unnatural or immoral' act it was once deemed to be. It is valuable currency with the woke generation. Young women today are acutely aware of how they can 'honey trap' academics to get them through their studies and use it liberally regardless of religion and culture. In fact the culture has existed for as long as sex between adults has.
Replacing a VC does not in any way cure the problem. A strict no nonsense uncompromising attitude as far as academic integrity is concerned is whats required. No special favours based on gender or religious quotas will assist in reducing the culture of expectations based on anything other than academic excellence.
Nothing will happen to this vice chancellor!