PUTRAJAYA will add another 15,000 placements for the Education Ministry’s matriculation programme for pre-university students, raising the number to 40,000 from the current 25,000 seats, said Education Minister Maszlee Malik.

However, the present 90% quota for Bumiputera students will be retained.

This announcement followed recent debates over the need to retain the old 90% quota for Bumiputera students, which critics argued was detrimental to the students themselves.

In a statement this afternoon, Maszlee said the issue concerning the matriculation programme intake was raised in the cabinet meeting today, leading to the decision to add more seats for students.

“The cabinet is in view that the main need to increase the number of seats is to produce more science students.

“The decision is also the best way to ensure the matriculation programme provides education opportunities for students of all races.

“Apart from this, the cabinet also decided to retain the 90% Bumiputera and 10% non-Bumiputera quota, in line with the programme’s original vision of encouraging Bumiputera students to pursue their education in science,” he said.

Maszlee said the Education Ministry will discuss with the Finance Ministry on the additional costs following the increase in student intake.

He said his ministry had been instructed to come up with the right strategic approach, including using the expertise and premises at the Institute of Teacher Education to meet the requirements due to the increase in intake.

The matriculation intake issue has of late been widely debated with several Pakatan Harapan reps also criticising the 90% Bumiputera quota policy.

Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah had said race-based quotas as a form of affirmative action is not the way forward and it reeks of discrimination.

She said the current quota system meant there would be a lower benchmark for matriculation colleges when it came to grading, compared to other pre-university entrance qualifications like STPM (Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia), which are taken by Form Six students.

She said this would put Bumiputera matriculation students at a disadvantage when they enter university and the job market later.

DAP Youth’s university affairs committee head Leong Yu Sheng also criticised the race-based quota system for the pre-university matriculation programme, saying that it was against the federal constitution’s guarantee of no discrimination against citizens. – April 24, 2019.