Abstract
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) has always acknowledged the needs to provide the opportunities get a quality education at the tertiary level. One of the many initiatives is its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme which is established to give financial support to B40 youth to pursue their studies through a pre-diploma programme. This CSR programme has helped 40,836 B40 pre-diploma students from the year of 2010 until 2018. Thus, a study has been conducted to investigate the overall academic performance and employability of the pre-diploma programme students who pursued their study in Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology. This study provides an overview of the achievements of institutional efforts in helping underprivileged students in preparing them for real work scenarios in agricultural sector with a good level of education. Primary data have been obtained from databases which handled by the UiTM Transformation Unit. Numerical analysis of the employability data was obtained through questionnaires and surveys from Skim Kajian Pengesanan Graduan (SKPG). All the data have been screened, cleaned, and coded accordingly using Microsoft Excel to find the connections and relationships. Descriptive statistics from the findings revealed that 81, 32 and two pre-diploma students successfully graduate their studies to diploma, bachelor’s and master degree respectively. 48% of the graduates are currently employed mostly in the private sector with the 'fresh graduates' qualification offered salaries between RM1,000 - RM1,800. In future work, further research can be done on how these pre-diploma students of low-income families can change the socioeconomics of their families as agriculture sector has been providing employment opportunities for communities across the region and it is a key factor for development in Malaysia. This could be a continuation of the recent work as its indicate that the CSR programme has met its objective to change the destiny of the nation’s children.
Highlights
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not new to universities that have long worked to benefit society by educating new generations of people as well as by engaging in community service (Dima, 2013)
Universities can provide the platform for community services as universities build bridges internationally, serve as national gateways for the sharing and dissemination of knowledge, and influence society through the ideas and values shaped by the humanities and liberal arts (Plantan, 2013)
Data collection involved a process of obtaining primary data from the databases of Students Information System Management, which is administered by the Centre for Strategic Planning and Information (CSPI), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam
Summary
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not new to universities that have long worked to benefit society by educating new generations of people as well as by engaging in community service (Dima, 2013). In a study about CSR in Malaysia, Mohamed Zain and Mohammad mentioned that the most popular theme was human resources, and the most popular sub-themes were education, participation in sports, culture, and philanthropy (Zain et al, 2007). UiTM plays a vital role in education for human capital development and economic growth. According to Kuh, the experience gained by first-year university students is vital to establishing baseline knowledge, a positive attitude, selfconfidence, and a commitment to study (Kuh, 2001)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
