Finding a job in today’s economic climate can be tough, even when you’re armed with a degree.
Hence, one can imagine how much harder it’d be if you don’t have one, or worse, have one that’s unaccredited.
This was the plight of one Malaysian man who completed a five-year degree programme at a Johor college, only to find out the certificate is unrecognised in Malaysia and Singapore.
Source: Sin Chew Daily on YouTube
As a result, he was only able to rely on his secondary school certificate to find jobs, thus limiting his career options.
The Malaysian man, Mr Teng (transliterated from Mandarin), told his story via a press conference in Johor yesterday (10 Mar).
He decided to publicise his struggles in order to raise awareness and prevent others from falling into the same trap.
It all started in 2010 when he was introduced by a friend to the college, according to Sin Chew Daily.
Hailing from a poverty-stricken background, the supposedly discounted programme fees and flexibility to work while taking classes enticed him to sign up.
Five years and S$5,104 (RM17,000) later, he graduated with what he thought was an accredited bachelor’s degree.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
He found out the hard way when a bank that hired him as a financial analyst informed him that his degree was unrecognised.
Subsequently, the bank rescinded their job offer.
Next, Mr Teng took up the matter with the college but claimed that they did not only give a reasonable response but also threatened to sue for defamation.
In the eight years that have passed since graduating, he said he has sought help from the Malaysian police, consumer tribunal, and Ministry of Higher Education (MOE) Malaysia — all to no avail.
As a result, he had no other academic qualifications to fall back on except his secondary school certificate.
With that, he took up various jobs in Singapore, including as a security guard and call centre operator.
He felt like he had hit rock bottom during this time, and even contemplated taking his own life.
Additionally, Mr Teng shared that he had to switch jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic. The difficulty of finding work then made him realise more than ever the importance of having a degree.
Eventually, Mr Teng decided to give higher education another shot with the encouragement of friends and family.
While he faced some roadblocks at first, he was able to apply with his years of work experience later on.
Since April last year, he has been taking remote classes for a business administration course from a UK-based university.
He is now on track to complete his studies next year.
Following the reopening of the Malaysia-Singapore borders, he has also quit his job here and returned to his hometown of Johor.
According to Mr Teng, he had approximately 10 other coursemates who went through the same ordeal.
Malaysian Member of Parliament (MP) Jimmy Puah stated during the press conference that colleges cannot issue bachelor degrees of their own.
Source: Sin Chew Daily
In fact, it is a right afforded to only universities or university colleges.
Mr Puah went on to say that scams like this usually target individuals who wish to work while studying, and lure them with discounted programme fees.
He advised secondary school graduates to check an institution’s qualifications via MOE Malaysia before enrolling.
Moving forward, he will be helping Mr Teng seek justice by personally escalating the matter to the ministry.
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Featured image adapted from Sin Chew Daily.
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