By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 3: The unity government has been urged to not release ‘half-baked’ policies that leave students and parents bewildered following a recent announcement that straight A achievers in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) would be guaranteed a place at any matriculation centres.
In a statement today, Sarawak Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth (DAPSY) secretary George Lam said the announcement made by Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim on June 30, undoubtedly represents a courageous policy reform but it is regrettable that the unity government has not fully disclosed its details.
This, he said, has resulted in many students and parents feeling lost, unsure how they could benefit from this policy.
Some have even given up on entering the government matriculation programme and turned to private institutions instead.
“I have received numerous complaints from parents. While this policy appears to have implemented educational reforms, allowing outstanding SPM students to study in matriculation programme, questions such as how to apply, the application criteria, whether one will be accepted, and more have not been addressed.
“All that was left was a statement that ‘as long as there are vacancies, students will be admitted’.
“Specific details such as how many vacancies are available, quotas for Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera students, none of these questions were answered at the time of policy announcement,” Lam stated.
In addition, Lam said there were also many students who previously did not have hope of being admitted to government university foundation programmes due to their 8A or 9A results.
“Upon seeing the prime minister’s uplifting policy announcement, they now wish to apply but do not know where to begin. For them, this policy is visible yet elusive,” he added.
Lam further urged Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek to reconsider reopening the application website for government matriculation programmes, which was closed on May 31.
This, he said, would refine the entire application and admission system for matriculation programmes, preventing this system from continuing to be a contentious issue. — DayakDaily
