STPM, matriculation merger on the cards

Updated 4 years ago · Published on 25 May 2019 1:15PM · 4 Comments

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik says he’s open to suggestions to improve the quality of our education system. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, May 25, 2019.

THE Form Six STPM examination may be merged with the pre-university matriculation programme, Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik said, as part of moves to equalise university admission.

The ministry is in the process of reviewing the proposal, raised by DAP Youth chief Howard Lee Chuan How, who is also the Pasir Pinji assemblyman, Maszlee said.

“I am open to suggestions to improve the quality of our education system. Howard’s suggestions are concrete ideas and all of them are being studied by the ministry.

“(This includes) the merging of the examination, syllabus and grading between the STPM and matriculation, to be implemented in 2020,” Maszlee said in a Facebook post today.

Lee met Maszlee a few weeks ago, according to the minister, and they discussed ways to overcome inequalities in university entrance admission between the STPM and matriculation programme.

The matriculation programme is a hot-potato subject in Malaysia as it benefits a large number of Bumiputeras because of a quota system, even as students of other races said they face difficulties gaining admission into local universities despite good results.

Maszlee came under fire recently when defending the matriculation’s racial quota by comparing it to the Mandarin language requirement by some employers in the private sector.

Lee urged Maszlee to retract the comment.

Maszlee said the ministry is reviewing Lee’s other proposals to equalise public university admissions, including reserving 2,000 places in public universities for the top 2,000 STMP performers based on the CGPA, regardless of race.

Other measures involve proposals to absorb 15,000 places in public university foundation programmes into the matriculation programme and a review of the grading system for co-curricular activities under matriculation to be equalised with points given under STPM. – May 25, 2019. 

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Comments

  • What merger are we taking about? Just hand over all matriculation examination process to Lembaga Peperiksaan Malaysia (LPM). Have a common syllabus for year one and two for universities just like the STPM programme. Cut off subjects like Agama and Malaysian studies for matriculation. Eleven years of these two subjects at primary and secondary schools are more than enough to last a life time. Just like STPM have a few core subjects and have a compulsory General Paper where language skills are taught and tested. My experience in education is more than 44 years. (20 years in school system, 14 years part time involvement with LPM for LCE, SPM and SPVM, with Q. Paper panels, team leader for marking all the 3 examinations ) plus 24 years at 3 different universities. .

    Posted 4 years ago by Citizen Pencen · Reply

  • Yup, why do they want to make it so complicated. Really take the fun out of learning!

    Posted 4 years ago by Elyse Gim · Reply

  • Lowering the passing marks is a giving false sense of achievement to the weak students only to exposed embarrassingly at the time of interview or when on the job.

    Posted 4 years ago by Concerned Citizen · Reply

  • STPM or A level is higher in status as a base requirement for entering University. Matriculation was created to make it easier for those who are victims of this 'created fear' of STPM. In mid 70s my spouse and I decided to take STPM together to better our status. With full-time jobs plus additional part-time work here, and there, no help or tuition, we both passed with full cert. at one go. I do not understand why Malays have made STPM a 'mountain' out of a mole hill'. So, to meet STPM standard the Matriculation babies will have to be fatten up with raised standards, which means hard work. Lowering STPM to meet Matriculation standard will make a mockery. I hope I will live long enough to see how Mazlee is going to juggle this.

    Posted 4 years ago by Citizen Pencen · Reply