http://dapmalaysia.org  

Merit system for admission to public universities needs to be tempered with “needs”   Press Statement by John Chung (Petaling Jaya, Monday): Deputy Education Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Shamsuddin today said that the government will not make concessions for students from any race who are not qualified to be admitted to public universities under the merit system.  He gave the reason that such a move would defeat the purpose of the merit system saying, “Meritocracy is a good solution for admission to universities. Anyone who wishes to earn a place has to work for it.” (New Straits Times)   While there is no dispute that the merit system is the best approach for admission to public universities in order to ensure fair competition between students from all races, such merit system should also be tempered with “needs” to cater to students in rural areas who are less privileged and disadvantaged compared to their urban counterparts.   Hence, the DAP does not agree with Abdul Aziz’s statement that concession cannot be made by the government for deserving students from this category although they may not be “qualified” under the merit system. All along, we have advocated that a merit system for entry to public universities must be coupled with “needs”, i.e. 80% based on merit and 20% based on “needs”.   Furthermore, the present “merit system” cannot be said to be meritorious when admission to public universities are not based on a common entrance examination but instead on different academic routes, namely the Sijil Tinggi Pendidikan Malaysia (STPM) and matriculation courses, which totally differ in terms of their level of difficulty.   The fact that Universiti Malaya only admitted one Indian student this year compared to 16 previously, as pointed out by MIC President Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, should be cause for concern and reason enough for the government to make special concession by also awarding places to other Indian students who may not have made the mark, merit-wise, but are deserving nonetheless, on the basis of “needs”.   On the issue of a common entrance examination, DAP member of Parliament for Tanjong, Chow Kon Yeow had, in his written parliamentary question on June 17, asked the Education Minister whether it would introduce a common examination for admission to public universities in line with the implementation of the merit system. The reply given was that the Education Ministry needed to conduct a comprehensive research before such an examination could be implemented so that it would not result in negative implications to the country’s diverse education system.   Hence, to ensure that the admission to public universities is truly meritorious, the Education Ministry should immediately carry out an in-depth research and survey on the viability of implementing a common entrance examination together with a 20% admission quota based on “needs” for all races by inviting feedbacks from academicians, teachers, parents and students and publicly announce the findings obtained. (30/6/2003) * John Chung, DAP National Publicity Bureau Assistant Secretary and Education Bureau Committee Member