I refer to the letter by Dr Musa Mohd Nordin entitled University-bashing unscholarly approach .

Firstly, I am only highlighting my experiences as an eye-witness to some of the incidents I mentioned. Since Musa demanded evidence, perhaps he would agree that eye-witnesses' accounts are in fact evidence, especially if corroborated.

And referring to the general state of affairs in our local universities today, I would think that Product of the System and the numerous letters expressing similar sentiments have corroborated each other's evidence on this matter.

Secondly, Musa made a wrong conclusion when he said that I seem convinced that 'linguistic artistry and gymnastics' would win the day in the legal courts despite all the hard evidence to the contrary.

All I am saying is that even if a teacher is thoroughly knowledgeable, it does not do his students much good if he fails to communicate his knowledge across. Of course, I have no objections if an engineer who speaks poor English designs a building because designing a building does not involve communication of knowledge as a core component.

But if the same engineer wishes to be a tutor who teaches in English, I would think he would be doing his students a disservice.

Words, they say, are the tools of a lawyer. And I say this is even more true for a lecturer or tutor whose core duty is to convey effective messages across to his students. It is that simple.

I, too, come from a non-English speaking family. That, combined with the lack of English language usage in the Chinese school I attended, allows me to understand the difficulties faced by the many who come from the same background as I do.

However, those who are not proficient and do not manage to improve their skills should not opt for a profession where their mastery of the art of delivering messages is a prerequisite, such as tutors. A tutor who is unable to give his students proper education is doing them a great disfavour.

Language aside, my original intention was to share with readers my experiences and hope that more people would realise the importance of a quality higher learning education. It was not meant to slander or raise racist issues but to let readers know of the cold, hard facts. Language is not the main issue here. Quality is.

I graduated with two degrees from a local university and would like to be looked upon highly but the truth must be spoken even if it is painful. If I had opted for an easier way, I, too, would force the perception that the standards at our local universities are great and all is well.

Sadly though, that is far from the truth and I am sick of hearing employers in the market saying that local graduates are below par. The only way is to improve our universities' standards.