UNIFIED Examination Certificate (UEC) students that are studying in China should be encouraged to come back and contribute to the government, said the Parent Action Group for Education (Page).

Page honourary secretary Tunku Munawirah Putra said UEC students should be encouraged to come back and contribute to the Malaysian economy by providing their expertise.

“Now you are talking about China taking over the market, but when some UEC graduates come back from a Taiwanese University, for example, with their knowledge of the Chinese economy, why not bring them home?” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) in its election manifesto had pledged to recognise the UEC so Chinese independent secondary school students can enter public universities.

Following its victory on May 9, Chinese educationists are now ready to see the coalition make good on its promise while Malay educationists and Malay rights groups are crying foul over what they see as an attempt to erode the importance of Bahasa Malaysia.

“It doesn’t really matter if it is Malay or a Chinese education because what you want is the quality of education, that is the bottom line,” Munawirah said.

She also said the UEC can serve as a platform to advocate national unity, similar to allowing vernacular primary school students enter government secondary schools.

“At the end of the day, maybe we have to try working towards national unity by admitting people with UEC into public universities.

“It means working together and making things better, so why not?” Munawirah said.

Currently, local public universities do not accept UEC results as part of their entry requirements, although local private higher learning institutions do.

She added that the UEC should be like other internationally standardised tests, have an extra qualification requirement when entering public universities.

“Students are already taking Malaysian University English Test (MUET) for English proficiency, so why not the UEC?

Wan Ya Shin, Assistant Research Manager & Coordinator, Social Policy for Ideas, said the recognition of UEC or other qualifications only affect the opportunities in education that they are exposed to.

“In terms of qualification it doesn’t affect their contribution to the economy, but it affects their pathway, the opportunities that they are exposed to.

“It is just a matter of policy whether different kinds of students can come back and have a different pathway occupation that they are going to,” Wan said.

Meanwhile, Soon Koi Voon, co-founder of Malaysian Home Educators Network (MALHEN) said racial politics has nothing to do with certification as it is the quality of education that is most important.

“Racial politics in certification (SAT, O Level, UEC) has nothing to do with the quality of education that a child receives.

“Education needs to transcend all these unnecessary labelling.

Soon added that a student must be given sufficient time and space to grow when learning in their educational period.

“We believe there is no one way of learning and teaching. So too, in our education, we need alternatives that include different learning styles and personalities.

“Schools should not be like factories – on a production line, rejecting quality issues (cannot pass exams) and allow only the ones that fit one way of learning to move ahead,” he said. – July 18, 2018.