SIBU: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) has questioned the higher entry thresholds UEC graduates have to meet in order to pursue studies at public universities.
The party’s Dudong Branch chairman Wong Ching Yong who highlighted it as being unfair warned that opening the doors of public universities would be meaningless if unreasonable admission barriers are put in place.
Wong, who is also SUPP central assistant information and publicity secretary, said the recently announced admission requirements by three public universities for UEC graduates had raised serious concerns among parents and students, particularly over what he described as excessive academic and language thresholds.
He was speaking at a press conference held during the SUPP Dudong and Sibu Jaya Branches’ Kopitiam Talk mobile service programme here today (Aug 16).
In this context he challenged Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders to honour their long-standing pledge on the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC).
Wong said PH should not lose sight of the commitment made in its 2018 general election manifesto, Buku Harapan, which stated that the UEC would be recognised as an eligibility qualification for applications to public universities, subject to applicants obtaining at least a credit in Bahasa Melayu at SPM level.
“Unfortunately, whether when PH first came to power in 2018 or when it became the dominant coalition in the government in 2022, its promise on the UEC has been watered down,” he said.
He said the latest admission arrangements appeared to have created a situation where UEC graduates could technically apply to public universities, but faced additional requirements that could discourage many from doing so.
Wong said three public universities — Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) — had recently published their respective requirements for UEC graduates seeking admission to selected Chinese-related programmes.
According to him, UPM is offering applications for its Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Chinese Studies, while UPSI is offering a Bachelor of Education (Chinese Language) programme.
At UM, UEC graduates may apply for the Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Linguistics and the Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Studies.
He said the published requirements included at least a C in Bahasa Melayu and an E in History at SPM level.
However, Wong said the additional requirements were the source of greater concern.
He pointed to the requirement for applicants to obtain at least six A2 grades in the UEC, including Chinese, as well as at least Band 4.5 in the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) or an equivalent English qualification recognised by the respective university.
Applicants would also have to sit for prescribed entrance examinations and attend interviews before being considered for admission, he said.
“We understand that universities must have certain admission requirements. But excessive thresholds are a different matter altogether. They amount to deliberately shutting applicants out,” he said.
Wong said the issue was particularly sensitive because many UEC students had already made decisions about their further education while waiting for clarity on how the government’s UEC policy would be implemented.
He recalled that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had announced on Jan 20 that Bahasa Melayu and History would be made compulsory subjects across all school streams, which DAP leaders subsequently viewed as paving the way for qualified UEC students to enter public universities.
He said Anwar later announced on May 15 that UEC students would be allowed to enrol in Chinese-related programmes at selected public universities, subject to passing Bahasa Melayu and History.
However, Wong said the application process remained unclear for months, despite applications being expected to open on June 30.
“It was only on August 6 that application details finally emerged, after repeated calls for clarification,” he said.
Wong also questioned the short application period, with the deadline set for Aug 25.
“With such a severely compressed application period, they are also expected to sit for the MUET. How is that not making things unnecessarily difficult for students?” he asked.
He said the prolonged uncertainty had also resulted in some prospective applicants making alternative arrangements, including choosing to study overseas or enrolling in private higher education institutions, with some having already paid their fees.
Wong cited Dong Zong’s position that UEC students who obtain six A2 grades could already qualify for full scholarships at a number of higher education institutions in countries and regions including China, Hong Kong and Japan.
He also compared the requirements with those of Xiamen University Malaysia campus and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), which he said require applicants to Chinese-language degree programmes to obtain at least five B grades in the UEC.
Wong questioned whether the current arrangement could eventually allow the government to claim that public university access had been opened to UEC graduates, even if the high thresholds resulted in few students applying or gaining admission.
“If a large number of UEC students are either rejected because the requirements are too high or choose not to apply because of the hurdles, it could later be argued that the government had opened the doors to UEC students but the students themselves either did not apply or failed to meet the requirements,” he said.
“That would make it extremely difficult to further expand the range of programmes available to UEC students in the future.”
Wong also questioned the political accountability surrounding the policy.
He said PH leaders should therefore take responsibility for ensuring that the implementation matched the spirit of their earlier commitments, rather than allowing the issue to become a matter of political finger-pointing.
“DAP holds the largest number of seats within the governing coalition and therefore has significant influence over government policy,” he said.
“If no PH minister is willing to take responsibility for the election promises they once made, then the Prime Minister should intervene immediately and rectify the unreasonable admission requirements imposed by these three public universities.
“Our children from independent Chinese schools deserve to be accepted, not unfairly screened out.”
Wong said the issue was ultimately not about lowering academic standards, but ensuring that access to public higher education was implemented fairly and consistently with the commitments previously made to UEC graduates and their families.
Also present at the press conference was SUPP Dudong Branch honorary adviser, Datuk Dr Soon Choon Teck.
