The Asia Pacific Accreditation and Certification Commission (APACC) has evaluated the fourth institution under the purview of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA), Malaysia through an online channel. The Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi MARA (KKTM) Masjid Tanah was evaluated on November 23 – 26, 2021 by the team engaged by APACC including the lead accreditor Dr. Raul Muyong, President of Iloilo Science and Technology University (ISAT-U), Member Accreditor Mr. Md. Enamul Haque, Research Fellow of the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh, and Documentation Officer Ms. Arlene Cruz, Projects and Consultancy Division Officer of the Colombo Plan Staff College (CPSC).
KKTM Masjid Tanah is a public technical college located in Melaka, Malaysia and is being headed by the Director Mr. Azman bin Alik @ Ali. Operating since 2008, the institution envisions to be an outstanding and trustworthy organization in upholding the nation’s pride. It aims to shape a holistic technical and vocational education and training (TVET) human capital with entrepreneurial values.
The APACC President Prof. G.L.D. Wickramasinghe, as well as officials from MARA including Dr. Suzila Akhmar binti Ahmad, Deputy Director of Technical and Vocational Division, and Mr. Jaafar Sidek bin Mohd Ani and Ms. Jerrize Izah binti Jamaluddin, Assistant Directors of Technical and Vocational Division attended the opening program.
On behalf of MARA, Dr. Suzila Akhmar welcomed the APACC team and congratulated APACC for initiating the online system in order to carry out the planned evaluation activities. She likewise introduced MARA and emphasized that it is responsible for developing, encouraging, facilitating, and fostering the economic and social development in the rural areas of Malaysia. According to her, MARA’s ten-year transformation plan 2018 – 2028 consists of 11 strategies to provide high quality TVET. She took pride of the fact that 90% of MARA institutions’ students were employed in 2019 and 2020 based on the tracer study conducted even during the pandemic, a sign of industries’ trust on the quality of MARA’s education. Lastly, she hoped for more collaboration amongst APACC accredited institutions through student exchanges and more employment opportunities in the Asia Pacific region for graduates.
The APACC member accreditor Mr. Haque assured KKTM Masjid Tanah of the APACC team’s commitment towards the successful completion of the online evaluation.
The lead accreditor Dr. Muyong lauded KKTM Masjid Tanah’s will to undergo the online evaluation even during the pandemic which, according to him, demonstrates the institution’s desire to achieve excellence. He assured the members of the institution that the APACC team will guide and help them reveal their strengths and address weaknesses. He also assured them that the evaluation will be “stress-free”.
Prof. Wickramasinghe, the APACC President, thanked the accreditation team and KKTM Masjid Tanah for the hard work and commitment despite their busy schedules. He stressed the importance of quality and quality assurance and emphasized the need to produce and deliver the needs of the industries.
Virtual tour of facilities and interviews with relevant stakeholders were held after the opening program and continued until the third day of the evaluation.
On the fourth and last day, the APACC lead accreditor Dr. Muyong highlighted the qualitative aspects of the team’s report which are the commendations (noteworthy practices that are over and above the APACC requirements), affirmations (acknowledgements of adequacy of provisions to comply with APACC requirements), and recommendations (suggested measures to address gaps).
