BACKGROUND TO THE RESEARCH

In February 2006, the Berita Harian, a local newspaper, reported that every year

Malaysia produces 60,000 graduates. 20,217 jobless graduates registered themselves

with the Ministry of Human Resources Malaysia in June 2006. Tables 1 and 2 show the

high  rate of  unemployment among graduates according to universities and courses in

Malaysia.

Table 1: Unemployment among graduates according to universities

University Unemployed %	Universiti Teknologi Mara 3,278, 16.2%
Universiti Utara Malaysia 1,532, 7.6%	Private Universities & Colleges 1,217, 6.0%
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia 1,147 ,5.7%	Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 971, 4.8%
Universiti Pertanian Malaysia 919, 4.5%	Other public universities 840, 4.2%
Universiti Malaya 531, 2.6%	Universiti Sains Malaysia 505, 2.5%
Universiti Malaysia Sabah 371, 1.8%	Universiti Islam Antarabangsa 358, 1.8%
Foreign Graduates 342, 1.7%	Universiti Malaysia Sarawak 174, 0.9%
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris,  39, 0.2% Others 7,993 39.5%	Total 20,217 100.0%