IPOH, May 16 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said admission of students holding the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) into public institutions of higher learning (IPTA) remains subject to strict conditions, similar to other graduates from schools outside the national education system.
He said one of the key requirements for eligibility to secure a place in public universities is a compulsory pass in Bahasa Melayu and History.
“Currently, we impose conditions on international schools, don’t we? International schools also have Malaysian students, many of them Malay students. So we apply the same requirements.
“For Maahad Tahfiz and Arabic schools, which previously delivered their entire curriculum in Arabic but did not place sufficient emphasis on Malay language and history, we impose the same conditions.
"That is why we made this decision (to provide a pathway for UEC students),” he said when launching the national-level Teachers’ Day celebration here today.
Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek and Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad.
The prime minister described the landscape of Chinese private schools in the country as having undergone a positive shift towards national integration, compared with four decades ago.
He said that although the issue of UEC recognition has been discussed for decades, there is now encouraging progress, with more than 80 per cent of students from that stream opting to sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.
“When I first discussed UEC graduates when I was Education Minister and (the late) Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Arshad was the Education director-general, we faced difficulties making headway because at that time, Chinese schools were completely detached from the national education framework.
“In several meetings with me, the teachers refused to speak a single word in Malay,” he said.
However, Anwar said the situation has now improved, in line with the spirit of unity and openness within the national education system.
He noted that in recent meetings, all representatives of the relevant associations have been speaking fluent Malay.
