Public uni pathway not recognition of UEC, says higher education DG

 Azlinda Azman says the admission of UEC holders remains subject to the conditions and standards set by universities.

Higher education director-general Azlinda Azman said assessments for admission into critical programmes such as medicine and engineering would continue to be based on SPM results.

PETALING JAYA:

The higher education ministry has stressed that the new entry pathway for students from Chinese independent secondary schools to public higher learning institutions does not amount to recognition of the Unified Examination Certificate’s (UEC) syllabus.

Higher education director-general Azlinda Azman said the admission of UEC holders remains subject to conditions and standards set by universities.

“This is not a question of recognising the UEC syllabus. What is important is that there is a pathway,” she said in a press conference today.

Azlinda said every university has its own evaluation mechanisms for applications from UEC holders, including academic benchmarks and programme requirements, ensuring that standards are upheld without requiring official recognition of the UEC syllabus.

Yesterday, the ministry said the government had agreed on several matters concerning entry pathways for students outside the national education system to pursue studies at public higher learning institutions.

It said the move involves students from tahfiz schools, private schools, and Chinese independent secondary schools entering public universities.

Candidates from these educational streams who possess full Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) qualifications may apply for any programme through the UPUOnline system, subject to the general and specific programme requirements set by universities through a merit-based selection process.

Today, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim reiterated that all students, regardless of their academic background, must fulfil the basic requirements and pass their Bahasa Melayu and History SPM examinations.

Azlinda also rejected the United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia’s claim that the initiative was “half-hearted”, saying university senates could not compromise on academic standards and quality requirements.

Asked why the matter had not been brought to Parliament, she said the matter was discussed and decided at the Cabinet level.

“This is a matter of policy decided upon by the government,” she said.

For Chinese independent secondary school or UEC graduates, the programmes identified so far involve Chinese language and linguistics-related fields, including Chinese language studies, Chinese linguistics, and Chinese language education.

For tahfiz and religious-stream graduates, the programmes offered include diploma and bachelor’s degree courses in dakwah, al-Quran and al-Sunnah, tahfiz education, and Islamic studies.

Azlinda said merit assessments for admission into critical programmes such as medicine and engineering would continue to be based on SPM results rather than UEC qualifications.

She said applications for the new pathways would open on June 30, as the process for admissions through UPUOnline for the current intake has been ongoing since the end of last year.

So far, three public universities involved in the new pathways have been identified – University Malaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia, and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris.

She said students admitted through the new pathways would be eligible for government education subsidies and may apply for financial support like other public university students. - FMT