Entrance of UEC holders to teachers' universities

DAP National Deputy Chairman and MP for Kepong Dr Tan Seng Giaw calls on the Educaton Minister YAB Tan Sri Muhyiddin to state whether the Cabinet has truly accepted Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) as a qualification to enter teachers' universities.

Allowing UEC holders to enter teachers' universities ia a step in the right direction. The Chinese Educationists such as Dong Jiao Zhong have their own assessment of the Cabinet decision, if it is true..

On 23.9.2010, the media report that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Koh Tsu Koon and MCA President Chua Soi Lek reveal that Cabinet has agreed in principle to allow Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) holders with credits in Bahasa Malaysia in SPM and three other subjects of UEC to enter teachers' universities.

We do not know what Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and hís deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin have said after the Cabinet meeting. I intend to ask them in the House.

Universities in other countries including those in Singapore have accepted UEC with their own conditions. They have recognized that UEC has attained certain standard. Now, the Cabinet appears to have taken a decision on UEC holders' entrance to teachers' universities.

What the Education Ministry should tell the public is whether UEC is comparable to other qualifications which enable a student to enrol in our teachers' universities. If UEC is comparable or even higher than other qualifications, it should practise the principle of meritocracy. Thís principle should be applicable to other Malaysian universities.

Dr Tan Seng Giaw