Failure to meet the target of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) by lecturers are among the factors that led to the termination of their contracts.

Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (Usim) vice-chancellor Musa Ahmad said financial constraints prompted university managements to scrutinise the performance of lecturers before deciding to renew or terminate their contracts.

"Some lecturers did not meet their KPI targets. For example, they did not do research nor publish journals. Universities have to be research based," he told reporters after the Usim-BIMB Certification Graduation Programme in Nilai, Negri Sembilan, today.

Malaysian Academic Association Congress (MAAC) president Mohd Idrus Mohd Masirin was quoted as saying about 6,000 lecturers had their contracts terminated last year.

He said budget cuts of up to 30 to 40 percent by the Education Ministry last year forced university managements to terminate the contracts of the lecturers.

Elaborating, Musa said the issue did not affect the lecturers at Usim because the number of contractual lecturers at the university was small.

"I would like to advise all the lecturers to enhance their performance to a higher level," he added.

- Bernama