Student Struggles To Get Hired Because 5-Year Degree At Johor College Is Unrecognised
He undertook a five-year bachelor’s degree at a Johor college but found it was unrecognised in Malaysia and Singapore upon job seeking.
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With many universities and colleges popping up, it’s always important to check whether our degree or diploma is accredited and recognised.
A Malaysian man, Teng, 32, shared his ordeal during a press conference with Johor PKR vice-chairman Jimmy Puah.
In 2010, Mr Teng was introduced by his friend to a college in Johor that allegedly offered discounted programme fees and the flexibility to work at the same time.
Coming from a poverty-stricken background, the offer enticed him and he signed up to realize his dream to become a financial analyst one day. He spent around S$5,104 (RM17,000) on his studies.
Five years later, he graduated and started to look for a job with his bachelor’s degree.
When the nightmares began
According to Sin Chew, he was about to be hired as a financial analyst at a bank in Johor but they found out his degree was unrecognised. Sadly, his job offer was rescinded, and his nightmares began.
Since his degree was unrecognised in Johor and Singapore, Mr Teng could only apply for jobs using his secondary school certificate as he has no other academic qualifications.
He had to take up jobs in security and call centres in Singapore. When he took up the matter with the college, they allegedly did not give him a reasonable response and threatened to sue for defamation.
Over the past eight years since graduating, he claimed he has sought help from the Malaysian police, consumer tribunal, and the Malaysian Higher Education Ministry (MOE) to no avail.
He has since sought help from Jimmy Puah upon returning to Johor once the Malaysia-Singapore borders reopened.
He claimed that 10 other coursemates went through the same situation.
Puah said that colleges cannot issue bachelor degrees of their own as the right is only afforded to universities or university colleges.
He added that scams like these target individuals who wish to work while studying and lure them with the promise of discounted fees.
To prevent a similar tragedy from happening, Puah advised Form 5 students to check an institution’s qualifications via MOE Malaysia before enrolling.
Puah will also help escalate Mr Teng’s matter to the ministry in pursuit of justice.
Currently, Mr Teng is picking himself up and is pursuing a business administration course from a UK-based university since April 2022.
It’s a remote learning course and he’s expected to complete his studies next year.
He hopes everyone will learn from his experience so that they will not go through the same troubles as him.
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