Universiti Putra Malaysia - History

History

The School of Agriculture was officially instituted on 21 May 1931 by John Scott, an administrative officer of the British colonial Straits Settlements. The school was located on a 22-acre (89,000 m2) spread in Serdang, Selangor state. The school began by offering the three-year Diploma program and a one-year Certificate course. By 1941 the school had trained 321 officers, with 155 having obtained the Diploma and 166 the Certificate. This school was, on 23 June 1942, declared to be the College of Agriculture Malaya by Sir Edward Gent, the Governor of the Malayan Union. In 1948 it was proposed that the college be upgraded to a university. The proposal, however, was shelved with the declaration of the Malayan Emergency in the middle of that year.

In 1960 the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Malaya was established. On 1 January 1962 a statute was approved to make the Council of the College of Agriculture Malaya an authority of the University of Malaya.

The formation of an agricultural university providing programs of study at the degree level was suggested by the then Honorable Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Haji Abdul Razak Bin Hussein, on 31 March 1969 at the opening ceremony of the additional wing to the College of Agriculture Malaya at Serdang, Selangor.

The establishment of Universiti Pertanian Malaysia was complete with the enactment of the Incorporation Order signed by His Majesty The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong as provided for under the Universities and University Colleges Act, 1971, and published in the Government Gazette as P.U.(A) 387 dated 29 October 1971. The Incorporation Order provided as follows : "There shall be a higher educational institution having the status of University, which shall be a body corporate for the purpose of providing, promoting and developing higher education in the fields of Agriculture, Forestry, Veterinary Science, Natural Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Technology, Social Sciences, Humanities and Education as well as to provide for research and the accumulation and advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of such knowledge in the aforesaid fields of study."

The creation of the university was based on the merger of the College of Agriculture Malaya with the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Malaya. Dr. Mohd. Rashdan bin Haji Baba was appointed as the first Vice-Chancellor.

Universiti Pertanian Malaysia began its first academic session in July 1973 with three faculties: the Faculty of Agriculture, the Faculty of Forestry, and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science. Beside the three faculties there was a Basic Sciences Division. The pioneer student enrolment was 1,559 for the Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, Diploma in Home Technology, Diploma in Animal Health and Production, Diploma in Science with Education, and Preliminary Programme.

In the early 1980s, UPM expanded by including Science and Technology subjects in its fields of study.

In 1997 the name was changed from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia to Universiti Putra Malaysia, in honour of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj. The change was announced on 3 April 1997 by the Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad. ITUPM was renamed in honour of Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, Malaysia's first Prime Minister. It lies near the heart of the Multimedia Super Corridor, the first large-scale high-technology initiative of the Malaysian government, and near the new administrative capital, Putrajaya. The latter, too, was named after Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj.).