MUET remains as pre-condition for local tertiary institutions entry

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian University English Test (MUET) will remain as a precondition for students applying for entry into local tertiary institutions for their first degree, said Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching.

She said this was in line with the objectives of MUET which was introduced in 1999 to fill the gap in the teaching and learning of the English Language as the second language at the pre-university stage, as well as to strengthen and boost English language proficiency among students.

“MUET is also in line with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and has been used as an entry requirement by several foreign universities… similar to the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL),” she said at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.

She was replying to a question from Datuk Shabudin Yahaya (BN-Tasek Gelugor) who wanted to know the status of MUET - if it was being reviewed or would be retained.

Replying to a supplementary question from Shabudin about public universities which set certain levels for MUET, resulting in some outstanding students not qualifying for their desired courses, Teo said the university senates had the autonomy to set the minimum conditions for certain courses.

“There are universities which set the condition of minimum MUET (achievement) at level 4, 5 and 6. This happens because there is a need, and most of the reference material is in the English language and the course is conducted in English,”she said. - Bernama