Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris

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**Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris**

Motto	Pengetahuan Suluh Budiman
Established	1922 (Sultan Idris Training College for Malay Teachers), 1997 (UPSI)
Type	Public
Chancellor	DYMM Raja Permaisuri Perak, Tuanku Bainun
Vice-Chancellor	Datuk Dr. Muhammad Rais bin Abdul Karim
Location	Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia
Website	www.upsi.edu.my

Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) is the previous Sultan Idris Training College for Malay Teachers. The Training College was founded by R. O. Winstedt and was officiated by Sir W. George Maxwell on November 29, 1922. The name Sultan Idris was taken from the late Almarhum DYMM Paduka Seri Sultan Idris Mursidul Adzam Shah, who is the 28th Sultan of the state of Perak, Federation of Malaya.

The Training College was then upgraded in 1997 to form the current University Pendidikan Sultan Idris and was officially open on May 1, 1997. The University is specialised in teacher training and all education related courses. Its main objective is to fulfill the current needs of the educational field in Malaysia.

Additional Article

The Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris was established on 1st May 1997 based on Government gazette P.U.(A) 132 & 133 dated 24th February 1997 under the Order of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (Corporation) and the Order of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (Campus) 1997. However, the history of this University dates back to 1922 when the University was then known as Sultan Idris Training College (SITC).

SITC was set up by the British government and it was the brainchild of the Deputy Director of Malay Schools, Sir Richard Winstedt. SITC was officially opened on November 29, 1922 by the Chief Secretary to the Federation of Malay States, Sir George Maxwell, making it the highest institution of learning exclusively for the Malays at that time.

Graduates of this institution were greatly respected and honoured by the society as it was renowned for producing prominent figures like the ‘Father of Modern Malay Language’, Zainal Abidin Ahmad or popularly known as Za’ba, novelists like Harun Aminurrashid, and Ahmad Bakhtiar and legendaries such as Ibrahim Yaacob and Aminuddin Baki. Tan Sri Awang Had Salleh, a national figure in the field of education and not forgetting the Former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Abdul Ghaffar Baba are also the ‘products’ of SITC. To many, SITC was regarded as the birthplace of Malay nationalism.

In the early days, students of SITC had to undergo a three-year training course, where they learnt traditional skills and arithmetic. These students were under the tutelage of its teaching staff comprising of four Europeans, one Filipino and ten Malays. After the 1957 Razak Report, new subjects were introduced and the training course was extended to five years. In addition, the name of the college was changed to Maktab Perguruan Sultan Idris (MPSI).

Traditionally, MPSI accepted only male students. However, in 1976 it began to open its door to the female population admitting its first batch of 150 female students. 1n 1987, the Minister of Education bestowed the institute status upon the country’s oldest teacher training college, and MPSI was thereafter referred to as Institut Perguruan Sultan Idris (IPSI). With its new status, IPSI started to introduce new courses including a twinning programme with Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (currently known as Universiti Putra Malaysia). By then, the number of students, lecturers and support staff had increased in tandem.

It is the aspiration of the Ministry to have only graduate teachers spearheading both the primary and secondary schools in Malaysia. Thus, in order to realise such noble dream, the Ministry of Education granted the university status to IPSI on 1st May 1997.

Undergraduate Programme

At present, the university offers 20 undergraduate programs from 8 faculties namely:

Faculty of Arts and Music[1]

• Bachelor of Education ( Arts ) with Honours

• Bachelor of Education ( Music ) with Honours

Faculty of Languages[2]

• Bachelor of Education (Malay Language) with Honours

• Bachelor of Education (Malay Literature) with Honours

• Bachelor of Education (TESL) with Honours

Faculty of Cognitive Science and Human Development[3]

• Bachelor of Education (Guidance and Counseling ) with Honours

• Bachelor of Education (Childhood Education) with Honours