Putrajaya must clarify statement on 10As SPM students placement, says varsity group

PUTRAJAYA needs to answer several questions which have been raised following its decision to allow automatic matriculation placements for SPM students who scored 10As, a local university students group has said

The University of Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) said the government needs to explain how it will accommodate students who achieved 10As based on the programme’s resources and teaching staff and how it will keep its promise without abolishing the quota system.

“Has the government considered whether the current resource allocation and teaching staff are adequate to support this measure, or is it merely an empty promise?

“Assuming there are enough spaces, allowing all 10As non-Bumiputera students into the matriculation program while retaining the quota system will inevitably overcrowd the program. This will lead to an overflow of students with a CGPA of 4.0, creating more grievances in the application process for popular university courses and further marginalising outstanding STPM students,” it said in a statement today.

It said the decision also appeared to be unfair to students who had scored 9As.

“The admission criteria for the science stream in the Matriculation program focuses on four science subjects, biology, chemistry, physics, and additional mathematics. After the "10As announcement," students who excel in these science subjects may not necessarily get a place in the matriculation programme,  it said.

For example, a student with 10As including four A-minuses in science subjects would be prioritised over a student with four A-pluses in science subjects but fewer than 10As overall. This will affect the standard of students in the matriculation program. Furthermore, students from “SMKs” typically take nine subjects, so this announcement will unfairly exclude them, further worsening admission inequality.

On June 30 Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that students who obtained 10As and above in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) exam will be guaranteed a place in any matriculation programme regardless of race or locality.

He said the decision was made by the cabinet last Friday to address the issue of fairness in education.

"The issue often becomes controversial when students pass the SPM but face limited education opportunities,” he was quoted as saying.

Umany said the the "10As announcement" seems to acknowledge the matriculation program as a shortcut to university admission, relegating the long-established and internationally recognised STPM to a last resort.

It said in the 2018/2019 academic year, a total of 54,104 STPM and matriculation students applied to public universities through UPU, with 33,197 of them being STPM students and 20,907 being Matriculation students.

“After the UPU and universities' selection processes, 24,375 STPM students and 20,269 Matriculation students were admitted. If the number of matriculation slots increases further, it is foreseeable that STPM students will become even more disadvantaged,’” it noted.

Umany believes that the "10A announcement" is a short-sighted move by the government to placate the public, which not only fails to address the root cause of admission inequity but also exacerbates the problem. Umany believes that a truly bold move would be to abolish the racial quota system and unify the pre-university admission mechanism.

MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong had this week questioned the programme’s capacity for all 10A scorers, given the 90:10 quota for Bumiputera to non-Bumiputera students in the programme.

Wee, in a Facebook post, had asked if the 10% quota for non-Bumiputera students was based on actual admissions or on programme capacity.

“According to the education minister’s 2019 parliamentary response, the MOE has always calculated the 10% quota for non-bumiputera students based on actual admissions (of Bumiputera), not on capacity.

“In other words, if Bumiputera students do not fill all places in the matriculation programme, non-Bumiputera students cannot exceed 10% of the student intake.

In another post on his Faebook page yesterday, Wee said MCA was disappointed after its youth wing received calls from parents whose children failed to secure a matriculation spot after the results of their appeal were announced.

“Many parents are disappointed that they and their children had high hopes of being accepted into the programme, but now their dreams are shattered. Can the prime minister help them?” Wee asked.  – July 6, 2024.