PARTI Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) Young Women’s Wing chief Muniraa Abu Bakar has urged the relevant authorities to make all University Central Unit (UPU) applications more transparent so students are more informed why they were unsuccessful in securing a place in public universities.
This is following recent news of school-leavers not being accepted in local public universities despite being top scorers in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examinations, thus raising questions about the criteria for admission.
“PBM strongly feels the rejection of these high scorers with no specified reasons is highly demoralising and contributes greatly to the brain drain in the country,” Muniraa said.
In a post that went viral on social media recently, a Mechanical Engineering diploma holder from Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Polytechnic in Kuantan, Pahang – who scored a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.95 – had bemoaned the fact that he had failed to get a place to continue his degree at a reputable local university.
However, like in many other cases, his application on the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) portal indicated offers from two universities in the United Kingdom (UK) for three courses.
“It is ironic how the applications from high scorers are rejected by local public universities but are readily accepted by foreign universities,” Muniraa observed.
“According to reports, over the years, there are over two million Malaysians living and working abroad, many of whom are professionals.
“PBM believes one reason for this is because many students were unable to secure places in local public universities, forcing them to pursue their education overseas. Once there, many were likely offered jobs upon completing their studies and have since continued living there.”
However, Muniraa noted that only students with strong financial backgrounds are fortunate enough to be able to pursue their studies abroad or at local private universities.
“What happens to students who do not have the means but have excellent scores and have been rejected by local public universities? These students find themselves being forced into employment after being left with no other choice,” she remarked.
Calling it a “greatly troubling” situation that warrants immediate attention, Muniraa pointed out that the country cannot afford to be losing high achievers to other nations simply because of “some faults in our local admission system”.
“PBM urges those concerned to immediately look into this and come up with a workable solution before more local talents are wasted,” she added. – Sept 29, 2022
Main photo credit: The Star
