The government should not be blamed for the non-renewal of the contracts of 156 public university professors as a result of budget cuts, Higher Education Minister Idris Jusoh said today.

Instead, Idris said, the decision not to renew the contracts lay with universities concerned as part of their autonomy, and had nothing to do with his ministry.

"We have given this autonomy to the universities. Universities can (decide whether to renew), not the ministry. All appointments are up to the universities.

"It doesn't lie totally with the government because universities have their own autonomy. They can rehire or put them on contract," he told reporters at a press conference in Putrajaya.

Idris explained that universities would look at certain areas, such as research abilities and teaching skills, before deciding whether or not to renew the employment of professors who have reached the retirement age of 60.

"If a university thinks they can still contribute, the university will continue with their (appointments) through contracts," he said.

According to Majlis Professor Negara chief executive Raduan Che Rose ( photo ), a total of 156 professors aged 61 to 70 are set to lose their jobs as a result of the government's budget cuts on education.

Raduan said about half of of the professors in Malaysia are aged around 55 and would now have only five years left in their careers before facing the likelihood of the termination of their careers.

There are 2,254 professors in Malaysia, of whom 1,867 are serving in public universities, according to a report.

'Be thankful to the government'

Admitting that the country's economy is in a difficult position, Idris said the people should be thankful for the way the government runs the country.

"Our growth last year, in a challenging situation, was five percent. The growth this year is expected to be 4.5 percent. Our deficit decreased from 3.2 percent to 3.1 percent, while our debt-over-GDP is still good, not above 55 percent.

"You should be thankful for the way the economy is run by the government," Idris added.

The Higher Education Ministry suffered a deep allocation cut of RM2.4 billion in Budget 2016.

Under Budget 2016, the Higher Education Ministry will receive RM13.378 billion (five percent of the national budget) compared to RM15.785 billion (5.8 percent) provided under Budget 2015.

This is the deepest cut for the ministry since Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak tabled his first budget in 2010.