THE banking, finance and insurance industries have agreed to work closely with the Higher Education Ministry to improve the quality of programmes in these disciplines at the tertiary level.

They made this pledge at a meeting on Tuesday jointly organised by the ministry and Bank Negara Malaysia to strengthen industry-academic collaboration.

Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed said a secretariat would be established and 50 industry players had agreed to be in the pioneer group.

"The secretariat will enable the collaboration to be done in a more structured manner and will serve as a platform to further enhance it."

He said the 50 industry players would act as resource people that universities could draw upon for expertise.

"This will help in the country's efforts effort to improve the quality of local graduates."

"It is a small beginning but I am sure the number will increase," added Mustapa.

Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz said the secretariat would ensure that the universities were kept abreast of the latest developments in the banking, finance and insurance sectors.

"This will help in curriculum development so that universities can focus on the demand for new expertise and skills in an increasingly globalised, deregulated and liberalised environment," she said.

"The industries have also agreed to look into expanding internship programmes at their respective organisations to ensure graduates have exposure to the real world."