KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia would be better off strengthening its existing higher education sports framework rather than spending huge resources on setting up a dedicated sports university.
That is the opinion of retired sports academician Dr Ahmad Naim Ismail when asked for his views on the idea, which has recently resurfaced.
“The idea of setting up a dedicated sports university is not new as it was already discussed during the 2008-2009 period,” said Naim.
“We were against the idea at the time and my opinion remains the same today.
“We cannot simply decide to start our own sports university just because some other countries have them. The situation is not the same here.
“The United States for example, does not depend on one university to produce their athletes. Their athletes come from across various universities via their NCAA system.
“Essentially forcing athletes to go to one sports university could limit their academic choices. What if they want to study medicine or engineering?
“It is unlikely a sports university can offer a huge variety of courses, that would be very expensive to run.
“If it is limited to only sports-related courses, can the sports industry accommodate thousands of new graduates each year and employ them?”
“I do not think our sports industry is large enough or even professional enough to do so. We see so many sports teams and clubs struggling financially.”
Naim highlighted that Malaysia already possesses a structured higher education sports framework in the Sports Development Policy for Higher Education Institutions, which has proven effective since its implementation in 2009.
The policy drives progress across seven core pillars – sports and infrastructure development, development of centres of excellence, academic and scientific research, athlete welfare and incentives, as well as institutional promotion and networking.
Under the policy, various centres of excellence and sports focus centres were set up.
The centres of excellence are – Universiti Putra Malaysia (rugby), Universiti Malaya (athletics and badminton), Universiti Teknologi MARA (football), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (archery) as well as Universiti Malaysia Perlis (cycling).
The sports focus centres are – Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (hockey and sepak takraw), Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (rowing), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (sailing), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (volleyball) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (squash).
“Under the policy, athletes who meet the minimum requirement are allowed to enroll at university and they are given the flexibility to train and compete,” said Naim.
“They can choose to defer their studies if there is a need to do so. Some athletes have spent up to 10 years in university as they juggle their sports careers with their studies. It is possible to do so.
“UPM, for example, had a strong rugby programme thanks to strong funding from the Higher Education Ministry were able to hire coaches and have comprehensive training programmes, which included exposure to tournaments overseas.
“The majority of players from that UPM side went on to help Malaysia win gold in rugby sevens at the 2017 SEA Games. It was the first time Malaysia won gold in rugby at the SEA Games. This proves how effective these centres of excellence can be.
“Unfortunately, I have been told that funding for the rugby programme at UPM has been cut significantly recently.
“What we need to do is to strengthen these centres of excellence and sports focus centres instead of looking at setting up a new sports university.”