Petition to protest UiTM faculties restructuring garners over 1,400 signatures

SHAH ALAM - The online petition to protest the restructuring of Universiti Teknologi Mara's (UiTM)’s Communications and Media Studies (FKPM), Computer Science and Mathematics (FKSM) as well as Information Management (FPM) faculties garners over 1,400 signatures so far.

Shortly after the news about the restructuring broke, the online petition was launched allegedly by alumni of FKPM as a sign of protest for the merger of the five-decade old faculty which had birthed many successful figures including journalists, technocrats and others.

The online petition was launched on Sunday and had so far gathered 1,414 signatures at the time of writing

FKPM in an official Facebook post yesterday clarified the matter and said that all faculties under the Computing, Informatics and Media college would be referred to as study centres.

"For example, FKPM faculties will be referred to as the Communication and Media Studies Centre.

"The changes will involve the cooperation of the university and not disturb the current fields.

"As an added value of this structure it would produce new fields without reducing any that was brought up by the faculty in 50 years," FKPM said in a Facebook broadcast on Sunday.

In March, UiTM Vice Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Roziah Mohd Janor said that UiTM would take steps to establish the study centres to combine several faculties as a measure to ensure that courses offered remain relevant.

She said from 26 faculties, as many as seven were combined such as the Chemical, Public, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Faculty had formed the Engineering College.