The Pakatan Harapan government is committed to helping the underprivileged gain access to higher education, be it through matriculation or other programmes, Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali said today.
"Let us not only focus on matriculation. There are many schemes and programmes to ensure the B40, those in the lower income bracket, get access to quality education.
"I think that is the fundamental issue and there is no dispute on this.
“The whole cabinet agrees in principle that we should help students in the B40 who have scored well to enter university," he told reporters after an iftar event at Surau Jabal Nur in Taman Seri Gombak.
Last month, the cabinet agreed to raise this year’s intake for the matriculation programme by 60 percent to 40,000 spots, while maintaining the 90:10 quota for bumiputera and non-bumiputera students.
This sparked a wave of criticism on the quota perpetuating discrimination, and on the higher intake increasing competition for STPM holders to enter public universities.
Education Minister Maszlee Malik courted more brickbats, including from his Harapan colleagues DAP, when he tried to defend the quota.
Maszlee linked the issue to how job applicants were being discriminated for not knowing Mandarin, and further claimed that non-bumiputera dominated private tertiary education because they were generally more well-off.
Asked today if he believed the divisive issue would tear Harapan apart, Azmin answered in the negative.
"The fundamental issue again is whether we agree or not to support the B40 who excel in their studies. And yes, we agreed.
“So there is a united and common stand taken by the leadership on this (matriculation) issue," he stressed. -Mkini
UTTER RUBBISH AZMIN
ReplyDelete