Minister conferred with an Honorary Doctorate in Education

YB Dato’ Seri Mahdzir Khalid, the current Education Minister, has long been an educator at heart. Graduating from Universiti Sains Malaysia in 1983 with a B.A. in Education, he had gone on to serve as a state education officer in Sabah and eventually as a Principal of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Gadong (Gadong National Secondary School) in Beaufort, Sabah. It is thus apt that YB Dato’ Seri Mahdzir today leads the Education Ministry in its charge of strengthening Malaysia’s education landscape to face dynamic challenges.

It was for the above reasons that YB Dato’ Seri Mahdzir was today conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Education by Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences (CUCMS). The award was conferred by the CUCMS Chancellor, Yang Teramat Mulia Dato’ Seri DiRaja Tan Sri Tunku Sallehuddin Ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah, the Tunku Temenggong Kedah and Chairman of the Kedah State Regency Council. The ceremony held an added sense of importance for YB Dato’ Seri Mahdzir who was born in the state of Kedah and where he had previously served as the Mentri Besar.

In introducing the recipient of the honorary doctorate, CUCMS Pro-Chancellor Y.Bhg. Dato’ R. Palan praised YB Dato’ Seri Mahdzir’s commitment to the national education agenda as well as his unrelenting push to ensure the education system results in the creation of a holistic and capable human capital for the growth of the nation. It is important for the nation to have a workforce that was not merely competent but also imbued with character, moral values and the respect for all races. This sentiment was echoed by YB Dato’ Seri Mahdzir in his acceptance speech where he highlighted Malaysia’ economic growth as a result of a knowledge, competent and professional citizenry who are able to work together in ensuring success.

YB Dato’ Seri Mahdzir also took the opportunity to praise CUCMS for its dedication to providing an all-rounded learning experience for its students. He noted the university’s programmes including medicine, pharmacy, complementary medicine and allied health sciences which are critical to the national healthcare industry. He also pointed out CUCMS’ latest programme, the Masters in Business Administration with specialized electives in Education Management, the first for Malaysia. The programme was designed specifically to meet the needs of school educators, education leaders and school principals by equipping them with the necessary business management knowledge as well preparing them with latest in education trends and topics. This allows for school principals and leaders of learning centres to prepare their organizations for the unique challenges that they face.