Beyond UEC: What Malaysia’s education system really needs

Sarawak has declared its recognition of the United Examination Certificate (UEC) to facilitate the entries of students with this qualification in the Sarawak-owned universities.

Sabah too recently announced its recognition of the UEC.

Then, attacks began to mount on the DAP for not doing enough. Ethnic Chinese leaders of the federal “unity government” too were questioned because they were so quiet and did not bring this up for the cabinet’s attention.

Umno – those inside and outside the unity framework – also began its onslaught, getting sharper and sharper as the days went by.

The UEC is merely an educational framework and qualification initiated decades ago. The MCA has been well aware of this matter, since the party was with the Alliance–Barisan Nasional-led government for decades. Then came Gerakan and today the DAP and PKR.

It is an exam system started decades ago to help and encourage young Chinese Malaysians in their education. It provided an option for those who wanted an efficient passage to achieve their dreams.

The UEC is not a political ideology nor an agenda to advance anyone’s political ambition. It was designed and built to accommodate young people from the Chinese community who wanted to excel in their studies.

The UEC is simply a small educational framework that aims to provide people more opportunities, options and routes to success. Everyone, including politicians, must take note.

Why make the UEC a punching bag? Why make the Chinese community a punching bag? Why was the DAP blamed? Why not blame the MCA and Gerakan as well, because they were also part of the government before 2008?

Was the DAP blamed because the party innocently inherited the mess left by the MCA and Gerakan? Was the DAP blamed because it is part of the of the government? Were PKR’s Chinese leaders also called out by netizens and listed as ‘traitors’ to the UEC cause? Why?

To Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah, why the big hullabaloo over recognition by your governments in the first place? Why couldn’t both GPS in Sarawak and GRS in Sabah recognise the UEC as quietly as possible?

Did the GPS and GRS want to provoke those in the peninsula? Did they want to become ‘heroes’ in the peninsula? Why don’t GPS and GRS come to contest in the peninsula when the next general election approaches?

The UEC has always become a political issue whenever it finds itself unintentionally in the wrong place. Dong Zong has also been ‘punched’ and been accused of being radical on many occasions.

If the UEC cannot be implemented under the Federal Constitution or educational framework or policies, then the reason is more nationalistic in nature.

Singapore also has a national educational policy that does not allow the UEC to be implemented in that country. But it allows those who have achieved UEC qualifications to enter its universities as qualified scholars to continue their studies in Singapore.

To the Malaysian government, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education in particular, if the UEC is still unacceptable to you despite much pressure from many stakeholders, you seem to justify it by citing nationalistic grounds as your major reason. A certain political party will probably say it threatens Malay and Islamic supremacy in the country.

If this is the case, rather than insisting that you are right on nationalistic grounds, could you please come up with more options instead?

Are you all still unaware that many young people from Malaysia’s Chinese and Indian communities are denied entry into public universities every year – and have been for decades now – despite doing well in SPM (Year 11 public school exams) and STPM (Year 13 exams)?

Why are there so many young people from these communities denied courses of their choice and given courses unacceptable to them or much lower on their list of priorities almost every year?

You keep on saying no to UEC. But could you improve the standard of the national educational system? Could you also revamp the nature of the national schools, by making then more national than religious and one-sided and providing more quality so that these schools can become truly national?

National schools should be more inclusive, shouldn’t they? National schools are supposed to be an avenue to provide quality education, advance national agendas, promote practical learning, enhance practical thinking, develop problem-solving skills, build and enhance national unity and produce more people who identify as Malaysian – rather than creating more people who identify as Malay, Chinese, Indian, etc and who sit, live and say things separately.

Review the performance of the young people, regardless of ethnicity or religious, based on socioeconomic needs, merit, hard work and what they have achieved. Let them all in with no restrictions or separation.

Provide equal education as an option if you insist the UEC is not the way out. Treat all SPM and STPM participants and achievers with equal rewards and uphold equal opportunities for all these young people.

Instead of condemning families who send their children to international and private schools, review the government education system, policies and framework. Find out why the system is lagging so far behind in terms of quality. Come up with a Swot (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis and improve the government schools and public universities.

Do you remember a number of ‘kangkung professors’ who emerged in the media recently claiming all manner of untrue historical achievements? That is what makes the quality of the system erode, not us!

So, stop making us your punching bags. Instead of complaining, insisting and condemning, find ways to come up with more options and improvements. Otherwise, the brain drain will continue and Malaysia will continue to export talent elsewhere.

Do not tell us to pack our bags and get out. Take a look at the mirror before you decide to utter those words. It will show whether you have that kind of quality.

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