The roles of universities have changed tremendously over the years as more and more national universities were established with the aim of fulfilling national agendas, the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Nazrin Shah, said today.

raja nazrin shah However, he said the universities should be smart in achieving a balance between the need to fulfill the national agendas and the need to ensure academic advancement.

"It is only right for government-funded universities to fulfill the country's vision and development agendas.

"However, there should be a smart approach to strike a balance between the need to fulfill the agendas and the need to ensure that the university would not be left out in the development of knowledge and academic cultures," he said at the University of Malaya's 49th convocation in Kuala Lumpur today.

Raja Nazrin, who is also the UM pro-chancellor, said a university, deemed as an academic village, had the autonomy to ensure continuous development of knowledge and academic culture which were based on facts, data and truth.

"A university is traditionally known as a centre where discussions, forums and criticisms are made in a democratic way and issues are discussed objectively without prejudice or bias because every opinion was based on facts, data and the truth," he added.

A total of 6,569 students of various disciplines will receive their degrees and diplomas throughout the convocation which began on Monday and will end on Aug 7.

- Bernama