A TASK force preparing a report on the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) for the Education Ministry wants more time to finalise its findings.

Its chairman, Eddin Khoo, said this is because the issue is not solely the exam, but involves other aspects of the country’s education system.

“This is not about UEC alone, but the issues facing the community. This is not an issue involving the Malay and Chinese communities. This is an issue involving education in Malaysia,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

He said the task force needs to look at the context of Malaysian history and the future of the nation’s education.

“Our mandate is to give the Education Ministry our recommendations on recognition for UEC. But it cannot be separated from the current education context.”

The team is trying to meet MPs on October 16, and aims to have its report ready by month-end.

Besides Khoo, other members are Dong Zong deputy president Tan Yew Sing, who also heads the Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce, and Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia president Mohamad Raimi Abdul Rahim.

UEC is a standardised test for independent Chinese secondary school students organised by the United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia since 1975.

The exam was launched after the Chinese schools refused to use English as the medium of instruction and join the national education system at the end of the 1960s. At the time, there were 62 such schools nationwide, with a third of them located in Sabah and Sarawak.

After 40 years of operating outside the national education system, said Khoo, it is only fair that a thorough study be done on UEC, including the circumstances under which the exam was created, before it is absorbed into the said system.

150 hours of discussion

Khoo said the task force has held 72 engagements with individuals, political parties, educationists and civil society groups to discuss the matter.

He said the meetings totalled about 150 hours, and cut across racial and generational lines.

The report will not contain just the team’s findings, but also transcripts from the meetings, he said.

Pakatan Harapan, in its 14th general election manifesto, pledged to recognise UEC. So, too, did Barisan Nasional.

Last week, Sabah became the fifth state to recognise the exam, paving the way for those with the certificate to join the state’s institutions of higher learning and civil service.

The other states are Penang, Selangor, Malacca and Sarawak.

Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal said while the state Education Department supported the decision to recognise UEC, certificate holders must also have a credit in Bahasa Malaysia and pass History at the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) level, as well as pass the Malaysian University English Test, to gain entry to a public varsity.

He said the state Public Service Department also agreed that UEC holders looking to join the civil service need to have the qualifications specified under the department’s rules and regulations.

They must also have the necessary SPM qualifications and others set by the state government, he said. – October 3, 2019.