Reform the university
admission system for genuine meritocracy, not sympathies and yearly
short-term measures
Media Statement
by Loke
Siew Fook
(Petaling Jaya, Tuesday):
DAPSY
calls on the Cabinet tomorrow to seriously discuss the steps to reform the
university admission system once and for all and end the unfair and flawed
meritocracy system started two years ago.
The so-called meritocracy system which put the STPM and matriculation
students into the same basket of selection for university placement was
introduced in 2002. Right from the beginning, DAPSY has expressed our
objection to the system as it is not meritolous at all for the simple reason
that we cannot compare the two completely different examination systems with
a same grading system.
For the past two years when the university admission results were announced,
newspapers headlines has been filled with reports that top-scoring students
did not get their courses of choice or many other deserving students were
denied places in public universities.
While DAPSY welcomes the assurance by the Prime Minister that the plight of
the 128 top scorers will be discussed at the Cabinet tomorrow, we express
our concern that many other deserving students who got between 3.8 to 3.94
points are not given due attention. All those students should also be given
opportunities to study the courses of their choice.
The time has come for the government to reform the university admission
system by abolishing all the different examination systems as criteria to
get into public universities and instead create a common examination system
for all Malaysian students regardless of race.
DAPSY reiterates that this is not a racial issue. It is solely an issue of
academic equality and fairness. We wish to remind the Barisan National
leaders not to turn all the criticisms against the so-called 'meritocracy
system' as raising sensitive racial issue. What we want is fairness to all
students who studied hard to get the best possible results. They
deserved a place in university and not sympathies from the government and
treated as a case to case basis every year.
(1/6/2004)
* Loke Siew
Fook, DAPSY National Secretary and Negeri Sembilan State Assemblyman
for Lobak
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