SIBU: An open and direct communication channel should be established between the authority and Chinese education institutions to facilitate efforts to get the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) recognised.
In making the suggestion, Sarawak United Association of Private Chinese School Management Board president Temenggong Vincent Lau Lee Ming believed this was the way forward to iron out any differences.
He personally felt adopting a ‘confrontational’ approach could cause people to lose their focus.
“I am quite optimistic if good communications is established between the authority (Ministry of Education) and Chinese educational institutions in our efforts for recognition of UEC.
“Having an open and direct communication channel will enable us to have dialogues or discussions to arrive at some form of consensus or even agreement.
“I think it is a very important step which we should be pursuing and likewise people who are concerned about this.
“This will be the direction of handling the issue and problems faced by any other Chinese independent school in the country,” Lau told The Borneo Post.
“Once we have better communication then we can understand each other better. Our aspiration is the Chinese community aspiration on the importance of Chinese education.
“At the same time, we will also be able to better understand the authority’s expectations and requirements so we can work towards resolving the differences.”
Lau said this when asked if the association would be making a fresh request for UEC’s recognition following a new Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid spearheading the ministry.
Towards this end, he figured the recognition could be in various facets.
As a starting point, they were looking at UEC qualification being accorded acceptance into public universities in the country.
This, he added, would help minimise the brain-drain in the long run.
On the contrary, it was a non-issue with private institutions of higher learning, he said.
“In fact, some 200 top universities worldwide, including 80 of the top ranking institutions of higher learning, had recognised UEC qualifications,” Lau pointed out.
Towards this end, he admitted the efforts in trying to get UEC recognised by the government had met with a lot of
challenges.
On a more positive note, he observed that in recent years the government was more receptive to their request.
Among the factors
contributing to the positive development, included the growing importance of the Chinese Language, which stemmed from the opening up of China’s economy, he said.
He anticipated the greater influence by China’s economy on surrounding countries’ economies.
“Because of that, the Chinese language will become more and more important.
“I hope the government also recognises this,” Lau said.