PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he would look into the issue of the quota system regarding the intake for the pre-university matriculation programme.
When asked for his comments on whether the quota system would be abolished, he said; "We will study the problem."
It was reported that DAP Youth’s university affairs bureau director Leong Yu Sheng urged the government to halt the practice of the quota system which prioritised Bumiputera students.
He said the number of students taking the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examination dropped from 81,142 in 2005 to 42,655 in 2018.
Leong said the difference of 47.4 per cent within 13 years was a clear sign that students were losing faith in the public education system.
A great number of students were disappointed with this unfair and non-transparent public education route and therefore chose not to take STPM, he was quoted as saying.
Previously, Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik said that the policy of allotting 90 per cent of seats in matriculation programmes for the Bumiputera would remain.
However, he also said that the Cabinet would discuss on whether non Bumiputera’s would be given a bigger quota.
The matriculation programme is a pre-university course for students who have completed their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.