KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — The cancellation of the Semester II Matriculation Programme Examinations puts Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) matriculation students at a disadvantage when it comes to securing limited public university spots, Melaka Action Group for Parents in Education (MAGPIE) said.
In a statement issued by its chairman Mak Chee Kin yesterday, the parent group warned against the possible perception of unfairness that could arise between the two sets of students who are graded differently for public university admission.
“As all of you are aware before this, the two different systems of qualifying into universities have resulted in an unfair playing ground.
“STPM students need to sit for three semesters, while matriculation students only two semesters,” the statement read.
To remedy the decision made by the Education Ministry, MAGPIE has urged the government to offer a leeway to STPM students.
“Let’s not forget that STPM is internationally recognised and if they are denied of their course of choice, it will result in a brain drain again.
“(We) hope the authorities will address the anxiety of our STPM students and their parents,” the group added.
In addition, MAGPIE suggested that STPM students’ cut-off points in this situation should differ from matriculation students.
“For instance, normally Four Flat will qualify to enter medical faculty in Universiti Malaya.
“The government should allocate more places for STPM students with good grades (CGPA 3.9 and above) and not pamper the matriculation students.
“Also to be fair, we suggest that this time, universities could have a qualifying test for students to ensure only those who really qualified for a spot, irrespective of whether they are matriculation or STPM students,” said the parent group.
On Saturday, the Education Ministry announced that the Semester II Matriculation Programme Examinations for the 2019/2020 session, scheduled from April 27 to May 4, have been cancelled, in light of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Following the cancellation, the ministry decided that the Matriculation Programme for the 2019/2020 Session is deemed to have ended effective April 11.
In a statement, it also said that following the extension of the movement control order (MCO) until April 28, it had decided that the Semester II exam results would be replaced with ongoing assessment results that have been conducted throughout the semester.
