Wee expressed hope that such policy would encourage more UEC holders to take up the selected courses.
KUCHING (May 16): Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s confirmation on admitting Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) holders into local public universities marks a minor breakthrough in the nation’s education policy.
In welcoming the news, Sarawak United Association of Chinese School Boards of Management (Sha Dong Zong) chairman Datuk Seri Richard Wee expressed hope that such policy would encourage more UEC holders to take up the selected courses.
However, he observed that the limited access to courses might reflect a certain level of political connotations.
“Although it is somewhat a minor breakthrough in our education policy as a result of the previous announcement that UEC students must obtain passes Bahasa Malaysia (BM) and History subjects in order to apply for entry to public universities, to open the programmes for only the selected few that relate to Mandarin courses gives the impression that it has political considerations and connotations.
“The only practical consideration in this announcement is that there are very few students or graduates opting for the subjects in our public universities.
“More importantly, there is a lack of teachers who are specialising in our system, and there is an acute need to fill such shortages,” he said in a statement.
Wee, also the president for Sarawak Federation of Chinese Associations, remained hopeful that such policy would eventually produce the pool of teachers needed in the country’s education system.
“I hope that the doors could be opened to more UEC students with BM and History joining most of the courses in our public universities to fulfil the promises made in accordance to the previous announcement,” he added.
On Friday, Anwar confirmed that the Federal Cabinet had approved the new admission pathways for UEC holders into local public universities.
He said all students, regardless of their schooling stream, must meet the basic requirement of passing BM and History subjects in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) said the government had agreed on several decisions regarding entry pathways for students outside the national education system to pursue studies at public institutions of higher learning (IPTA) in the country.
This would be based on merit calculations according to the subject packages determined by the Ministry of Education, and subject to the general and specific programme requirements set by universities through a merit-based selection process, added MoHE.
UEC is the credential held by the students of Chinese independent secondary schools across Malaysia.