Group upset after student with 4.0 CGPA in STPM denied varsity spot

 

FMT:

Group upset after student

with 4.0 CGPA in STPM

denied varsity spot

Osmond Mah

-20 Sep 2024, 03:11 PM

Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth says he didn’t receive a single offer from any public university for the 12 engineering programmes he applied for.

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Goh Siang Yee (third from left) with his mother, Umany president Lim Jing Jet (second from left) and vice-president Tang Yi Ze (second from right) at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall today.

KUALA LUMPUR: 

Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) has demanded an explanation from the higher education ministry after an STPM student who scored a perfect 4.0 CGPA was denied entry to 12 local degree programmes.

Umany president Lim Jing Jet said Goh Siang Yee’s case highlighted the weaknesses in the public university admissions mechanism.

We urge the higher education ministry to explain Goh’s case to the public,

 he said at a press conference held at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall.

We also want the implementation of a transparent criteria and mechanism under the University Central Unit’s (UPU) application system to ensure a fair admissions process for all pre-university students.

Goh, who also scored high marks for co-curricular activities, had applied for engineering courses through the system but did not receive a single offer despite his excellent academic and co-curricular records.

When I emailed UPU to ask why I was rejected, the admissions officer informed me that I met all the requirements for the selected programmes, but I ‘lost’ due to competition with other candidates, or because the programme I applied for is highly competitive,

 he said.

According to Lim, Umany received 23 other complaints from students who were unhappy with their UPU results, with three STPM students and eight from the matriculation programme saying they were not successful in getting any of their first three choices in their application.

This UPU injustice towards well-deserving students has been going on for many years but we still do not see any effort by the government to resolve the issue,

 he said.

Meanwhile, Goh said his identity card and birth certificate were withheld by the national registration department (JPN) in early 2022 because the adoption process by his parents was found to be invalid.

He only received his new birth certificate in April this year and filed for citizenship in July, with the result of his application still pending.

However, Goh said he did not think his citizenship status had anything to do with the rejection for the degree programmes as he was able to apply through the UPU system.

He added that he will consider applying to private universities but is concerned that his current citizenship status will make it difficult for him to get a scholarship.