THE transfer of pre-university governance for the Form Six Programme from the Education Ministry to the Higher Education Ministry will be implemented in stages during the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP).
Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud said pilot projects were being carried out at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
“Although the Form Six programme remains under the Education Ministry, classes are placed within these two universities as part of a pilot project to assess implementation feasibility,” he said during a special chamber session of the Dewan Rakyat.
Mustapha said at present, certain benefits available to pre-university students under the Higher Education Ministry’s jurisdiction were not extended to Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) students.
These include loans under the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN), the MySiswa Card Initiative, the MySiswa MEAL (Meal Assistance for Learners), the MOHE Food Bank Initiative and the Madani Kitchen Initiative.
He was speaking on “Transparency and Accountability in the UPU Admission System: Balancing Meritocracy and Fair Access to Public Universities,” a motion brought by Chiew Choon Man (PH–Miri).
Chiew had asked about the percentage of Malaysian university student intake through the STPM, matriculation, foundation, diploma, feeder and direct intake channels for 2025, the current ratio of international to local students in public universities, the status of the proposal to place STPM under the Higher Education Ministry and the merit formula and minimum score thresholds for each academic programme.
Mustapha said for the 2025/2026 academic session, the success rates for public university admissions were 85.42 per cent for STPM graduates, 99.43 per cent for matriculation, 84.45 per cent for foundation and 64.44 per cent for diploma or equivalent candidates.
He said the meritocracy principle used for undergraduate admissions to public universities was based on 90 per cent academic achievement and 10 per cent cocurricular performance, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or state.
“The Higher Education Ministry only accepts the final results from the relevant agencies and processes applications according to the candidates’ chosen programmes.
“The ministry also guarantees that all outstanding candidates who achieve a CGPA of 4.0 from STPM, matriculation or foundation programmes will be offered places in one of their 12 choices through the UPUOnline system.”
Mustapha said international students made up about 7.5 per cent of total enrolment in public universities.
As of last year, there were 611,798 students in public universities, comprising 558,476 local and 53,322 international students.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
