COMMENT | When people ask me about my academic background, my usual response is to joke that I have a diploma that is of equivalent value to toilet paper.

As a young adult, I sought to pursue a diploma in broadcasting with the Malaysian Institute of Integrative Media (MIIM) – at one point known as Akademi TV3, before the TV giant divested its education arm.

Being young and carefree, I did not do my due diligence and only found out after my course began that all diploma programmes offered by the college were not accredited by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA)...