Prof Omar Shawkataly, a chemistry lecturer, said the cases involved sexual harassment, plagiarism, stolen research work and lecturers going absent without leave.
He added that most of these educational institutions had lost all semblance of ethical values as lecturers, when caught red-handed, were only lightly admonished by being forced to retire early or allowed to leave on the quiet.
“That is not punishment. I feel it is a reward because they are given a golden handshake,” he said.
He was speaking during the forum, The Fall of the Faculty: The Death of Professionalism, Integrity and Ethics.
The forum was organised by Gerakan Tenaga Akademik Malaysia (Gerak), a movement dedicated to discussing and debating issues on higher education in Malaysia.
Omar said other university staff and lecturers often chose not to complain about the misconduct of others for fear of being branded as “left wing” or anti-establishment.
“They do not want the university to be put in a bad light.”
Omar highlighted some of the offences that had allegedly taken place, saying some of these cases were reported by him while others were reported by students and staff.
“A lecturer was found to be passing his students with a grade A or B without marking any examination papers for the past 15 years.” He said the matter only came to light when a new head of department was appointed.
“The head of department did a spot check and found 15 years of exam papers untouched. The lecturer was told to take optional retirement and given a golden handshake.”
In other instances, Omar alleged that some lecturers would force students to buy their textbooks.
“Or else they will be failed. The students will make a bee line outside the lecturer’s office to buy the textbook. After the payment is made, their name is ticked off the name list.”
Omar also said a lecturer had translated the contents of an old book and claimed it as his original work.
“The books were eventually withdrawn from the market and he was allowed to retire quietly.”
According to Omar, one lecturer was alleged to have stolen a proposal in order to be eligible for a research grant.
“The lecturer borrowed another lecturer’s student’s work and went on to publish the work without naming the student.
“He said someone then lodged a complaint against the lecturer. The lecturer was given a warning,” he said.
Omar also spoke of cases of sexual harassment by academic staff.
“They harassed the students as they felt they had the power, but it went unreported,” he said.
Another case that Omar said was ethically wrong was when a lecturer was made the examiner of her husband’s student’s thesis.
He said there were also instances where one brother was the examiner for his younger brother’s work and a father-in law was an examiner for his son-in law’s work.
“For a person to be an examiner, it goes through several stages of approval in the university. Where is the check and balance?”
Alluding to cases of financial corruption, Omar said in some cases, the same equipment was used for every grant but claims were often made for new purchases.
He also spoke about the issue of lecturers going absent without leave, and related how one academician did not turn up for work for years on end.
“He was found moonlighting at a private college. The head of department did not want to take any action and the lecturer was simply given optional retirement,” he said.
He added that another lecturer did not turn up for work for 40 days, and once again, instead of action being taken against the individual, the head of department resorted to begging the individual to return to work instead.
Omar also alluded to the issue of false claims and fake degrees and related the case of a particular lecturer who was asked to leave once it was discovered he did not hold even a single degree, when he claimed to having three earlier.
“The university only found out the truth after a few years,” Omar said.
He said the only reason why he was highlighting this and other cases, was so the public and relevant authorities would be aware of the issues faced by public universities and other institutions of higher education.
“The university board has to be serious in taking action against those who are caught,” he said.