It's as good as any entry exam, so kudos to MOE
Less than 24 hours after deputy education minister, Teo Nie Ching announced that the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) will finally be recognised by end of the year, the opposition has come out strongly against the proposal.
All the arguments put forward by groups such as Umno Youth and Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) are nothing but fluff.
These are clearly the people who had in the past halted all the attempts made by Dong Zhong to have the UEC recognised. As early as the early 2000s when I was working with Monash University campus in Malaysia, UEC was already accepted as entry requirements for university programmes.
Students applying to study in other universities in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States were also able to apply using the UEC results.
Yet, I could see over the years that the UEC has faced an uphill battle especially in the past not because its curriculum was inferior but because of the politics and mentality of “crabs in a basket” or as the Malay proverbial saying goes, “Seperti ketam di dalam bakul.”
For example, the Islamic social activist group’s secretary-general Muhammad Faisal Abdul Aziz claimed that the UEC system is not in line with the national education policy until it emphasises on the primacy of Bahasa Malaysia.
Such an argument would be frowned at by academicians in most major universities around the world.
Unless, for example, the student wishes to pursue a course in English literature, there is no need to have high grades in the pre-university English.
Unless, for example, the student wishes to pursue a course in English literature, there is no need to have high grades in the pre-university English.
Language is only a tool to help with one’s learning experience and given time and exposure, most UEC students entering the university did well in their studies. Most of them pick fields such as engineering as it requires less a command of English.
And if Bahasa Malaysia is not that difficult to speak or learn, as pointed out by former Minister of Culture Tan Sri Rais Yatim, there should be no qualms over UEC graduates who enter into local public universities.
Education should not be mixed with politics. In the past, due to political pressure from people with vested interest, we have turned our education system from one of the best among the Commonwealth countries to where it is today.
We can see this “self-termination process” now more clearly when we see how newly-elected Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki trying to be seen championing Umno’s cause by putting forward his objection against the UEC recognition.
Asyraf claimed that the Malaysian education system would become “disorderly” if the government recognises UEC along with other certificates of the same level that were already recognised by the government.
Borrowing a word from Bahasa Malaysia, “muak”, I have no answer for Asyraf except to let him know that our education system is already in shambles.
To Teo and newly-minted education minister, Dr Maszlee Malik, I would like to say that the UEC recognition is in line with international standard practice by most other universities around the world.
The recognition given to UEC is only a way to contain the outflow of Malaysian students from pursuing their education in Taiwan.
Understandably, those in the current batch of UEC graduates have prepared themselves mentally to study in Taiwan, so it will take at least five years before we even see a new batch of UEC students wishing to continue their education in local public universities.
Understandably, those in the current batch of UEC graduates have prepared themselves mentally to study in Taiwan, so it will take at least five years before we even see a new batch of UEC students wishing to continue their education in local public universities.
In my opinion, the UEC recognition would only be a formality and until and unless the local public universities become truly world class institutions, there is unlikely to be a big number of UEC students flocking to public universities unless circumstances dictate it.
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