Students who had their options for public higher education limited due to disabilities have been given about 10 times more courses to choose from - just days before the application deadline.
This came after Malaysiakini highlighted the plight of Karishma (not her real name), who was previously limited to 22 pre-university courses to choose from on the UPU Online system, after her disability was flagged.
“They (UPU Online) made changes to the options. It was 22 options previously, now I have nearly 275 courses I can apply to,” the student who has mobility issues told Malaysiakini.
It was previously alleged that she was denied admission into some universities due to her disability, based on a response she received from an UPU Online agent.
Karishma said she had been checking UPU Online every day, including the morning of June 30. To her delight, when she checked the website that same night she saw the system had been updated.
UPU Online is an application system for students to apply for programmes at public tertiary education institutions.
The UPU Online update phase was initially opened for seven days, starting from June 15, to allow Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) leavers to update their applications, according to their examination results, for the 2021/2022 academic session.
The deadline ends today (July 2).
Meanwhile, Renata (not her real name), another physically disabled student who faced similar issues as Karishma, also claimed to have been granted more course options on UPU Online.
Renata, who was part of the SPM 2020 batch, initially took to Twitter to lament about facing similar issues as Karishma.
”Based on my trial results I had roughly 200 options to choose from throughout the application phase, but it was reduced to 23 during the UPU Online update phase.
“I was confused because my actual SPM results were 7As and 2Bs. I checked my eligibility for each course I intended to take and discovered that I was eligible, yet those courses did not appear on my (UPU Online) selections list,” she told Malaysiakini.
She said she contacted the Concerned UM Indian Graduates (Cumig) group who then told her about Karishma’s case.
“That was when I realised it was because of my disability and that I was not the only one going through this,” she added.
However, she discovered yesterday morning that she had been granted all the courses she initially applied for and submitted her application on the same day.
More choices, less excitement
While the choices available have been expanded tenfold, Karishma isn’t too excited about her options.
“I’m not interested in most of the courses given,” she said, adding that she was considering scholarships and private options as well.
It was previously reported that she was shortlisted for the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s Asasi Pintar Pre-University (APP), even completing all the documents required, including a video submission.
The shortlisted applicants were emailed on May 6, a few months after Karishma made her first UPU Online application in March.
But her application disappeared during the UPU Online update phase, which left her with just 22 options to choose from.
She was then told by UPU Online’s helpdesk that she could only apply from the courses made available to her due to her disability.
On June 23, the Higher Education Ministry issued a statement denying claims of disability discrimination. Instead, it said Karishma was denied because she did not make the requirements for the programme she wanted.
A ministry spokesperson told Malaysiakini at the time that the UPU Online system automatically rejects an admission when a student does not meet the minimum requirements.
Malaysiakini is attempting to reach out to the ministry for further comments. - Mkini
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