The proposal made by National Economic Action Council (NEAC) executive director Mustapha Mohamed - at the Unipreneur Conference 2003 in Kuala Lumpur - to establish a full-fledged research university to spur the growth of local industry through research and development activities is a step in the right direction.

He said that the university should mainly cater for postgraduate studies and research purposes. Hence, its establishment will definitely be able to help satisfy our aspiration of becoming a knowledge-based economy.

However, the government should not stop at merely creating only one top class university. Efforts should be directed at all public universities in order to help upgrade the quality of their facilities, extend their resources and uplift their academic and research quality.

The facilities in our universities are nothing to shout about. During the mid-1990s - it is still probably the case today - most of the undergraduates had to endure lecture halls which were poorly ventilated and maintained.

Those in the science and engineering faculties did not have access to modern and well-equipped laboratories to conduct their research or technical experiments.

Moreover, access to multimedia and computer facilities was often limited by the dismal condition of the equipments and the excessive ratio of undergraduates per computer.

It is no doubt very challenging studying under such environment. In order to sustain a vibrant knowledge economy, we need a bigger pool of talent supported by a network of solid and good education system, and not just one world-class university.

Currently, most of the 17 public universities are focusing on teachin. Not much emphasis is ced on research and development, an important facet of higher learning institutions in a knowledge economy.

Perhaps one way to encourage more research efforts is to provide grants to these universities based on the amount of research conducted per annum. Invariably, universities wanting more grants would have to place more emphasis on research initiatives.

At the Infosoc 2003 forum on 'Youth and ICT for Development', local It entrepeneur Chris Chan pointed out that there is an inherent gap in the current formal education curriculum and real world requirements in terms of knowledge and practical skills.

The conclusions of the forum also hinted at lack of creativity and flexibility in our local education system. It calls for a need of experimental education where higher learning institutions, both private and public, are encouraged to innovate to create centres of excellence in education.

The message is clear. Unless we do something to change the state of our 17 public higher learning institutions, we will continue to churn out unemployable graduates. The market will continue to heave a huge sigh over not being able to find good candidates to fill vacancies.

Adding to Mustapha's proposal, the government should also consider setting up an open university catering for working adults who would like to seek new skills and knowledge for the purpose of social and economic mobility.

In the 21st century, a worker will find his knowledge becoming redundant in less than five years if he or she does not make any effort to relearn and retrain.

In an open university, formal education or qualification would no longer form the basis of entry for courses. If a candidate can demonstrate an adequate degree of learning skills and cognitive understanding, he or she is allowed to enroll into his or her desired course.

Hence, a pass at the university's foundation course level is a prerequisite to a candidate's progress to the next level towards attaining a recognised qualification.

An open university which promotes life-long education is an important feature in many successful knowledge-based economies today such as Finland, UK, US and Hong Kong.

What is obvious is that the government should be encouraged to act on a good proposal aimed at improving our education system.