Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin says a number of amendments have been made to the Universities and University Colleges Act, giving students greater freedom to carry out political activities.

With applications for funding and grants becoming more competitive, self-governance for universities could nudge researchers to actively look for the resources they need.

The Taliban have said women will be allowed to go to private universities under the new regime, but they face tough restrictions on their clothing and movement.

The decree applies to private colleges and universities, which have mushroomed since the Taliban's first rule ended in 2001.

These students will be able to return home without taking Covid-19 RT-PCR tests.

Has higher education transformed into a global business?

Singapore-based academic Syed Farid Al-Attas says there is a corporate disease seeping into the work culture of the local academia.

Professor Ahmad Murad Merican also hits out at KPIs set for lecturers which pressure them to publish multiple articles per year.

Academic Faisal Tehrani warns against the 'yes man' culture, saying the strength of a university's research culture depends on the society around it.

Chandra Muzaffar says an obsession with global rankings has a role in the overall decline of local universities, but it also reflects Malaysia's status-conscious society.

Higher education centres can still thrive if they embrace new approaches and technologies, say experts.

Malaysian universities and colleges have embraced e-learning despite the image problem associated with online degrees.