KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 (Bernama) -- A bill to empower the Higher Education Ministry to govern the institutions of higher learning (IPT) is being promulgated, said its minister, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

He said although there were provisions under six acts to regulate the management of higher education sector, they were piecemeal in nature and not comprehensive.

The National Higher Education Act bill, which will plug the loopholes, will be tabled in parliament after it is scrutinised by the Attorney-General's Chambers, he told reporters after launching a book on criminal laws in Malaysia at the University of Malaya here today.

The provisions governing the IPT are stipulated in the University of Malaya Act 1961, the University and College University Act 1971, the Universiti Teknologi Mara Act 1976, the Private Institution of Higher Learning Act 1996, the National Council of Higher Education Act 1996 and the National Higher Education Fund Act 1997.

Khaled said since the formation of the Higher Education Ministry as a separate ministry from the Education Ministry in 2004, there was no specific law governing the higher education sector.

He said as such, the Higher Education Ministry was having difficulty in clamping down unlicensed institutions from awarding degrees, diplomas and other qualifications.

The new act will empower the ministry as the sole custodian of the IPT, including in the accreditation of qualifications and the issuance of licence to enrol foreign students.

Khaled said the act would enable the ministry to set up a higher education database on the IPT, students, and lecturers, who were conferred professorship, doctorate or honorary doctorate.

"This will curtail the misuse of the titles 'professor' and 'Dr' by unqualified lecturers," he added.