http://dapmalaysia.org   

Musa Mohamad  should make Ministerial statement in Parliament on Tuesday on  Education Ministry’s masterplan to transform the local universities into centres of academic excellence and merit and whether a start could be made this year by offering the 624 STPM 2002 top scorers their first choice of course
 


Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang

(Petaling Jaya,  Sunday): The Education Minister, Tan Sri Musa Mohamad should make a Ministerial statement in Parliament on Tuesday on the  Education Ministry’s masterplan to transform the local universities into centres of academic excellence and merit and whether a start could be made this year by offering the 624 STPM 2002 top scorers their  first choice of course in the local universities. 

DAP proposed last week  that the 624 top scorers in the 2002 STPM – those who scored grade A ,  i.e. the 40 with 5As and 584 with 4As - should be offered full scholarships and first choice of course, not only for their sake but also for the sake of the country, in order to send a clear message of the new ethos of academic performance and achievement as a giant step to transform Malaysia's public universities into internationally-recognised universities of merit.

In fact, even more important than being offered full scholarships is being able to be offered their first choice of university course – and I would urge the Cabinet next Wednesday to give this subject top priority so that the country would be spared of another nation-wide furore, heart-breaks and outrage over the injustices and unfairness of university admissions when results of the university entrance selections for the new intake are announced in May.

Education should be one of the top agendas in the parliamentary meeting beginning tomorrow. The National Higher Education Fund Corporation chairman, Datuk Ahmad Husni Hadnazlah announced  last week that the NHEFC  is offering a record RM2 billion in study loans this year  to finance the fees of students already enrolled in 18 public universities and nearly 300 private universities and colleges.

Husni, who is MP for Tambun, should ensure that Parliament is given a full list of the receipients of NHEFC study loans since its inauguration, giving a racial breakdown as well as data  of the different universities, colleges and  courses of study.

Ahmad Husni  should regard last month’s  suicide by  SM Tuanku Ampuan Najihah (Seremban) Science student, J. Lakshmi who failed to get the 6As she wanted as a failure of NHEFC to get the message out to all students that so long as they are prepared to work hard and improve academically, they will not be denied the right to affordable quality higher education in the country. In actual fact, Laksmi’s SPM results were quite creditable,  securing 2As for Mathematics and English Language, with  credits for the remaining subjects except for a  P7 for Bahasa Melayu paper.  Her suicide is an indictment on the national education system in Malaysia.

(9/3/2003)


* Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman