Friday 15 July 2011

KLE University (Part 1)

STUDY IN INDIA: BANGALORE VS BELGAUM

There are two universities in India which take Malaysian students for the medicine degree program. One is operated by the Management Science University (MSU) with HQ in Shah Alam, and the other by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) with HQ in Penang.

The preparatory course for prospective MSU students is done at the Shah Alam campus. MSU is running the prep course for the 5th time this year (2011). The course content is very good and has a lot of resources. However, student housing is a bit crammed at the Shah Alam shop-house hostels.

It is not known where USM conducts its preparatory course for its prospective students or whether there is one. I don't have much info of the USM prep course and program at Belgaum. 

MSU operates the MSU-IMS (International Medical School) medical program in Bangalore and uses the Ramaiah Hospital.

USM operates the USM-KLE (Karnataka Lingayat Education) University medical program in Belgaum. It is not known which hospital is used at the time of this writing. Belgaum is approx. 8 hours drive from Bangalore airport or 1 hour flight.

https://www.facebook.com/USM-KLE-International-Medical-Programme-Belgaum-394434213979967/timeline

Both programs are ok. The Academic Session begins at the beginning of October each year. Students have a 1-month break at the end of first year before they continue into second year.

Both programs have applied for MQA approval. MSU-IMS applied for MQA approval last year, October 2010. USM-KLE applied for MQA approval just recently, in June 2011. Once approved, medical graduates are acknowledged by JPA (Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam, Malaysia) and students can work as doctors. Check and re-check with JPA that these overseas programs comply with MQA set standards. Do your own homework too.

If there is no MQA approval for the overseas medical program, the downside is graduates will not be recognised after they graduate and have to fall back on their highest academic achievement, either SPM or STPM. This will be a waste after all the 5 years spent overseas. Better to be safe than sorry.

Parents must scrutinise medical programs and ask a lot of questions. Never take anything for granted. Don't be misled. Read the fine print too before signing any document. Don't sign if you don't understand.

Prof Faridah

32 comments:

Wawa Yaya Irzaim said...

Salam Prof.. I'v read this article n yet i need the information, is USM KLE now had been approved by the MQA? Tq

Faridah said...

Salam Hazel,
I heard last week that USM did not manage to obtain MQA approval for its USM-KLE medic program. JPA also froze that program. There's nothing we know what USM will do next. Like it or not it has to have the requisite MQA approval before students complete the program in India. Without MQA approval, MMC may require foreign medic graduates to pass an additional exam set by Malaysia.

:..S.Y.U.: said...

salam pr0f.. i've apply f0r usm medicine in kubang kerian.. then, if i apply this usm kle, is that will affect my kubang kerian's applicati0n??

Faridah said...

Salam S.Y.U.,
I have fwd your query to the relevant people. Am awaiting their response. Will post here if I get any response.

:..S.Y.U.: said...

thank u very much pr0f.. =)

Faridah said...

FYI
Your query has been forwarded to Prof. Shaiful Bahari Ismail, Deputy Dean (Academic), School of Medical Sciences, USM Health Campus, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan.
Email: shaibi@kb.usm.my
Web: http://www.medic.usm.my/

Faridah said...

DEar S.Y.U.,
Below is the reply from the Deputy Dean (Academic). You can email or phone him if you have further queries. Good Luck to you for your studies.
PPSP is our medical school.
Prof Faridah

Dear Prof Faridah,
Her application to ppsp won't be affected. If she is selected for interview on the 2 or 3 May but not selected to ppsp, she need not go through another interview for kle usm imp. We will just review the mark of her interview and see whether she can be our student in India. If she is not selected for the interview to ppsp, we will do another interview for usm kle imp sometime in june. Hopefully she fulfil our criteria to be called for the interview. Thanks
Shaiful
Dr Shaiful Bahari ISMAIL, Professor
Deputy Dean (Academic and Students Development)/
Department of Family Medicine
School of Medical Sciences
Universiti Sains Malaysia
16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, MALAYSIA
Tel +6097676003
Fax +6097656532
H/phone +60199582828

:..S.Y.U.: said...

thanx in advance pr0f faridah.. =) may allah bless u.. i'll disscuss this wif my parent .. h0pefully, they will all0w me t0 take this 0pputurnity (the usm kle pr0gramme).. thnx 0nce again pr0f..

fadhlina said...

After a year...nk tanya,USM-KLE Prgrm tu da dpt MQA ke blom??

Faridah said...

Dear Fadhlina,
This is the reply from the Deputy Dean (Academic). You can email him directly if you have further queries wrt KLE.

from: Shaiful Bahari Ismail shaibi@kb.usm.my
to: Faridah Abdul Rashid
date: Sun, Jul 29, 2012 at 8:40 AM
subject: Re: [Medicine Newbie] New comment on KLE University (Part 1)

Dear Prof. Faridah,
Mohon forwardkan my answer below to her. Actually, I am not sure of her email address????

MMC/MQA has visited USMKLE IMP 3 times in last 1 year. They have approved the program and total intake of 100 students per year. The accreditation visit will be done again 6 months prior to the date of graduation of the first batch i.e early 2015. Thanks

Dr Shaiful Bahari ISMAIL, Professor
Deputy Dean (Academic and Students Development)/
Department of Family Medicine
School of Medical Sciences
Universiti Sains Malaysia
16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, MALAYSIA
Tel +6097676003
Fax +6097656532
H/phone +60199582828

Anonymous said...

Is there any scholarship provided for USM KLE students?JPA?

Faridah said...

Dear Anonymous,

As far as I know, the USM-KLE students get some assistance (scholarship). However, I'm not certain which one (JPA/MARA/other), what amount and the details. I will try and get some answers from the deanery and revert to you here.

Faridah said...

This is the website for USM-KLE International Medical Programme at Belgaum in India: http://www.usmkle.edu.in/

Faridah said...

Dear Anonymous,

This is the reply from the Deputy Dean (Academic):

Wsw Prof Faridah,
USM does not provide scholarship for our program in Belgaum. So far JPA does not sponsor student to our program in India. 98% of our students are sponsored by MARA and the rests are our private students. Off hand I cannot tell you the details of the scholarship but it will be in the agreement signed between MARA and the students. Thanks
Shaiful
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device via Vodafone-Celcom Mobile.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Prof for the answers!Really appreaciate it!

missza_shi said...

assalam prof....
i juz want to ask your opinion...i was just graduated from local public univ in biological science....fyi...becoming a doc is my true ambition and until now it still strongly stick on my mind. Recently, i found out about usmkle...so i plan to apply for it.

but some people advised me to just continue studying for mster n later phd.Honestly, i'm not interested pursuing to the higher deg level.now i'm just interested in med.so i'm a bit in dilemma r8 now.hope u cn give some opinion.sorry for the long-written
comments.

Faridah said...

Wa'alaikumussalam missza_shi,
TQ for writing. Congratulations for obtaining your first degree in biological science. Since you are highly interested to pursue medicine, I would suggest that you go for medicine, ie get an MBBS degree, either at USM KLE or other places overseas. Once you complete the MBBS degree, you can further your studies and specialise in a medical/clinical field that you like for your Master of Medicine/MMed degree (equivalent to MSc). After the MMed degree, you can further your medical/clinical specialization and do a Medical Doctor/MD degree (equivalent to a PhD). That way you get the medicine degrees and also get to go higher and more specialized in your field. The MSc and PhD today have little future prospects as compared to 30 years ago. Now the world needs highly specialized expertise or skills. Even if you don't wish to work at the hospital later, you can retire early and open your own clinic and do some surgery, like what most doctors do today. They work in private practice for more than 30-40 years, making RM10,000 per day on average; they make more in Singapore and other countries. Give it a thought and see what your preferences are. Follow your heart.

M@$tURiN@ H@FiZ said...

assalamualaikum....
prof...i just want to ask whether when is the interview for usm-kle this year...

Faridah said...

M@$tURiN@ H@FiZ,

Here's the answer I received from the Deputy Dean (Academic):

Wsw Prof Faridah,
Thanks. We are going to have our first interview this weekend, saturday and sunday in Kl involving about 40 students. We will be calling interview in series once we have enough candidates. Thanks
Shaiful
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device via Vodafone-Celcom Mobile.

azrul sofi said...

salam, saya dpt iv 22hb ni boleh saya tahu pengambilan setiap tahun berapa? yang pergi iv berapa orang? adakah mara masih memberikan loan untuk program ini?

Faridah said...

Salam Azrul Sofi. This is the reply from Prof Shaiful (edited for web):

Salam Prof. Faridah,

Utk temuduga 22hb ni seramai 59 calun telah dipanggil. Yes, MARA does sponsor the program but unfortunately, this year they will only sponsor 50 places and we have given them the list of 50 students. You can advise him to come for the interview and if he passed the interview, we may appeal for more places from MARA. Thanks

Shaiful

Dr Shaiful Bahari ISMAIL, Professor
Deputy Dean (Academic and Students Development)/
Department of Family Medicine
School of Medical Sciences
Universiti Sains Malaysia
16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, MALAYSIA
Tel +6097676003
Fax +6097656532
H/phone +60199582828

----- Original Message -----
From: Faridah Abdul Rashid
To: shaibi
Sent: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:00:41 +0800 (MYT)
Subject: Fwd: [Medicine Newbie] New comment on KLE University (Part 1).

Dear Prof Shaiful Bahari,

This is Azrul Sofi's query re KLE at my blog.
Can you help answer his queries?

TQ.

azrul sofi said...

ouhhhh bila pass iv boleh dpt mara, kalau pass kena apply sendri mara or pihak usm yang uruskan?

Anonymous said...

prof, may I ask when the interview result will be released? if i am not selected, there is any chances to appeal? and what is the quota of student will be sent to kle this year?

tq.

Faridah said...

from: Shaiful Bahari Ismail
to: Faridah Abdul Rashid
cc: usmkle
date: 15 June 2013 16:31
subject: Re: [Medicine Newbie] New comment on KLE University (Part 1).

wsw,
Elok dia contact sekretariat usmkle, 097676045 (en hafiz) atau 097676047 (Puan Fareza) or email spt diatas, utk penjelasan lanjut. Thanks

Shaiful

Dr Shaiful Bahari ISMAIL, Professor
Deputy Dean (Academic and Students Development)/
Department of Family Medicine
School of Medical Sciences
Universiti Sains Malaysia
16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, MALAYSIA
Tel +6097676003
Fax +6097656532
H/phone +60199582828

Faridah said...

Dear students,

Please email or call the USMKLE Secretariat if you have any questions.

Email: usmkle@kk.usm.my

Sekretariat usmkle:
097676045 (en hafiz) atau 097676047 (Puan Fareza)

Anonymous said...

Dear prof,

I wanna ask some questions regarding usm kle :

1. How is the HO when the student finish their studies?

2. Any special exam when the student come back to Malaysia?

Anonymous said...

madam, untuk hostel. student boleh sewa hostel sampai habis pengajian? maksudnye, xpayah tinggal lua dari campus..

Anonymous said...

How is the mqa? Is it aprroved?

Anonymous said...

I'm quite worry about the financial assitance. If USM sending more students this year, will MARA offer more places? How is the things going on last year? Did all bumis students managed to get the scholarship?

Faridah said...

Dear students,

Please email or call the USMKLE Secretariat if you have any questions.

Email: usmkle@kk.usm.my

Sekretariat usmkle:
097676045 (en hafiz) atau 097676047 (Puan Fareza)

Anonymous said...

salam, saya telah dapat offer letter md usm kle, adakah pinjaman mara kita kena mohon sendiri atau pun pihak usm uruskan?

Faridah said...

Dear students,

I will no longer entertain students' queries re USMKLE. Please send your questions to the USMKLE Secretariat.

Please email or call the USMKLE Secretariat if you have any questions re your entry into USMKLE and MARA scholarship.

Email: usmkle@kk.usm.my

USMKLE Secretariat:
097676045 (En Hafiz)
097676047 (Puan Fareza)

TQ