Good news or bad news?

Published: Friday January 15, 2010 MYT 8:45:00 PM

More affordable way to pursue a medical degree

PETALING JAYA: There is now a new and affordable avenue for Malaysians to study medicine locally.

Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman’s (Utar) new Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences will hold its first intake in May, at a cost of about RM50,000 a year, a fraction of what parents would have to pay for medical courses in other local private universities.

The Higher Education Ministry has just approved the faculty’s Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme and the faculty will accept an initial 50 students this year.

Housed at the varsity’s Sg Long campus in Selangor, the MBBS programme will cost RM50,000 per annum and around RM250,000 for the entire five-year course.

There are currently 25 universities training doctors in Malaysia. Ten of them are public universities while private universities and university colleges make up the other 15. Please read the complete one here if u’re interested...

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/1/15/nation/20100115204915&sec=nation

Last year, after my postings in Teluk Intan, I just realized that how many housemen we have currently... One of the advantages is the workload can be lessen. Nevertheless, it becomes more and more competitive in learning. We are always reminded that doctors are getting more. The other school of thought is that doctors are still not enough if you compare the ratio of doctors to population...With so many universities offering medical degree, be it public or private, locally or overseas, I wonder quality or quantity is more important...It’s good that many youngsters can get into med school but are there enough lecturers or facilities for them? Maybe I’m just disappointed by my own shortcomings.