General paper should apply to all pre-U students, says academic

 Teo Kok Seong backs a general paper requirement for UEC holders in principle but says it should apply nationwide rather than only to UEC students.

Dong Zong had reportedly rejected a proposal for UEC holders to also sit a general paper besides obtaining a credit in Bahasa Melayu at the SPM level.

PETALING JAYA:

Any proposal to require students to sit a general paper should apply to all in Malaysia in pre-university pathways rather than just the United Examination Certificate (UEC) holders, says academic Teo Kok Seong.

Teo Kok Seong.

Teo, of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, said he supported the idea in principle, but warned against singling out UEC students when weak critical thinking was a broader concern.

“It’s not an isolated case. That is the trend today, not only among UEC students but also non-UEC students, as well as the STPM and matriculation students. They lack critical thinking,” he told FMT.

Teo said the problem should be addressed much earlier, noting that higher-order thinking skills had already been introduced at primary school level.

“You cannot all of a sudden in Form 6 teach people how to think critically. You have to start teaching this in primary school,” he said.

He was commenting on remarks by former UEC task force chairman Eddin Khoo, who said UEC holders seeking admission into public universities should pass subjects such as history and civic studies, obtain a credit in SPM Bahasa Melayu, and sit a general paper.

Khoo said pairing a general paper with an SPM credit in Bahasa Melayu should be sufficient for entry, but claimed the idea was rejected by Dong Zong, which maintained that a BM credit alone was enough.

Eddin Khoo.

The task force was formed by Pakatan Harapan in 2018 to study the feasibility of recognising the UEC for public university admission. Dong Zong chairman Tan Yew Sing, then its deputy president, was also a member.

When contacted by FMT, Tan did not confirm or dispute Khoo’s account. He said Dong Zong had not taken a formal position as the task force report had not been made public and no formal recommendations had been received.

Tan said Dong Zong had accepted the government’s “UEC+2” framework, which allows UEC holders with a full SPM certificate to apply for all public university programmes, while those who sat only for the BM and History papers are limited to four Chinese language-related courses.

He also said Chinese independent schools already cultivate critical thinking through classroom practice, co-curricular activities and community-based learning. - FMT