Big problem in education

I WOULD like to highlight to Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik an issue that has been causing problems to numerous Malaysian students due to their choice of foundation programmes after SPM.

Students are given a plethora of foundation programmes to select from after the SPM examination. These are provided by the Education Ministry and private institutions. Foundation programmes offered by private institutions include A-Level, AUSMAT (Australian Matriculation), International Baccalaureate and Foundation in Science or Art.

Some students who choose these programmes may opt to further their education in our public universities instead of private institutions. This is because the cost of studying in our public universities is affordable and the standard is as good as that of prestigious universities globally.

Unfortunately, these students are often sidelined due to several reasons, the main one being that there are only two public universities (Universiti Malaya and Universiti Sains Malaysia) which accept these private foundation qualifications. However, these two universities tend to pick students from the Malaysian Matriculation Programme or those with STPM qualifications over those from private institutions with equally excellent grades and strong co-curricular backgrounds.

Students who are determined enough to apply for a place in public universities are not only overwhelmed by the application process but are also deterred by rude officers in the admissions office who often tell them to further their studies in private institutions since they completed their foundation programme in one.

This unfortunate situation results in brain drain and loss of talent in our public universities. These students would continue to look for other ways to further their education and, in most cases, would finally obtain financial aid to study in private universities locally or abroad. If this trend continues in the years to come, Malaysia will eventually be deprived of talent.

It cannot be denied that our public universities have improved over the years in the global university rankings. But there is still plenty of room for improvement. Accepting local students from different pre-university programmes with outstanding academic and co-curricular backgrounds would be one way of doing this.

These students also want to contribute in bringing our universities into the limelight. Their choice of pre-university programme should not mean they are less Malaysian or indicate that they want to leave the country.

Our pre-university programmes should also be improved. Programmes like the A-Level and AUSMAT provide students with interesting and in-depth knowledge which they could apply in their degree courses. Besides that, these students are capable of coping with the stress involved in studying in university.

The Malaysian Matriculation Programme has become an “easy way” into university while the number of students pursuing STPM has declined over the years. Furthermore, it has been observed that students from the Malaysian Matriculation Programme are not able to handle the stress of studying in a university. Initiatives should therefore be taken to overhaul the quality of the matriculation programme so that students would be able to handle the workload and pressure in university. In fact, it would be better for them to do Form Six and sit for the STPM examination.

This is just one of the countless cries for help to the Education Ministry from students with other qualifications besides the Malaysian Matriculation Programme and STPM who wish to continue their studies in our public universities.

I am one of these students. Please recognise these other programmes. We really want to be part of our Malaysian universities and contribute to making them as prestigious as other universities worldwide. YUHASHINEE K. KUMARADEV Bukit Mertajam