STPM students hard to secure a place for popular courses in local varsity?

Since in the early 80s in the 20^th century, the enrolment to the local public universities is base on quota system. It is an unfair system as it base on races and bumiputra are reserves 55% to 65% of the universities places. Some years back, the enrolment system has changed to a worse than the quota system, a ‘meritocracy’ system' which standardized a lower standard matriculation system and world wide recognized STPM. How they standardized a two of different education system is a mystery.

I avoid saying how unfair of the system is, and only those who has gone through this can understand that. You are comparing a one year matriculation that is evaluate by their lecturer, base on test, exams and assignment with a one and a half year STPM with harder and broader syllabus, almost entirely base on one exam.

What make me an ex STPM student who enjoy quota system feeling depress is, this meritocracy enrolment system has make a lot of good STPM student dropping in their way to pursue popular courses like medicine, pharmacy, engineering and accountancy.

According the data collected by Inter-varsity Counseling Group (IVEC) for Chinese student, there are some serious skew of the intake between matriculation and STPM.

I just take some example of the popular courses. It is base on intake 2007/08 and you can look for the information from <http://www.quansheng.org>

Please note that al the data is just from Chinese but I do think it is the same for others except bumiputra.
UM

1. Medicine - 18 from STPM with CGPA 4.0 while there are 62 students from matriculation background. The maximum score and minimum score of CGPA is 4.0.

2. Pharmacy - 6 students from STPM with score of CGPA 4.0 while 21 matriculation students with the same score enroll the same course. The max and min score is 4.0 for both streams.

3. Electrical Engineering - For STPM, 3 with CGPA 4.0 and 1 with CGPA 3.92 manage to enroll. For matriculation, 23 with CGPA 4.0 and 1 with CGPA 3.94 enroll the same course. Please note that 3.92 is the second best score after 4.0 for STPM

4. Telecommunication Engineering -- Only total 1 student from STPM with a 4.0 score enrolled. 13 students from matriculation with CGPA score of 4.0 enrolled and 1 student with a minimum score 3.88 manage to enrolled.

5. Mechanical Engineering - 3 students with CGPA 4.0 (STPM) enrolled while a total of 26 students with the same CGPA enrolled is from matriculation

6. Chemical Engineering - Again, 6 from STPM and 18 from matriculation enrolled. All of them got perfect CGPA, 4.0
7. Actuary - this one is harder to judge. One student with maximum score 4.0, and one student with a minimum score 3.88 from STPM. 10 students from matriculation with a score of CGPA 4.0 manage to enroll. However, the total Chinese student from STPM is unlikely more than matriculation.

8. Law - The only course that more intake for STPM students among the popular courses. There are 23 students with maximum score 4.0 and minimum score of 3.83 from STPM while only 5 students from matriculation with a full point score.

UKM

1. Electrical & Electronic engineering - One from STPM with a 4.0 score while there are 12 from matriculation that has a full score

2. Mechanical engineering - For STPM, one student with a CGPA 4.0 get the enrolment while 2 students with CGPA 3.92 is the minimum score for this course. Meanwhile, 15 students with CGPA 4.0 enroll while the minimum score is 3.9.

3. Chemical engineering - Only 2 students from STPM has enrolled for this course. In contrary, there are 23 students with CGPA 4.0 from matriculation and the minimum score is 3.92

4. Law - May be there is some justice in law faculty. The enrolment for both STPM and matriculation in UKM is even.

5. Dentistry - Only 4 students with a CGPA 4.0 enroll while 19 students from matriculation with 4.0 score enroll. Besides, there are 2 students enrolled with a minimum score 3.92

6. Medicine - STPM vs matriculation. 22 vs 61 with a score of 4.0. There are matriculation students that enrolled with a result of 3.95

7. Pharmacy - Only 12 students from STPM while 30 students from matriculation enrolled for this course.
8. Actuary - 4 students enrolled with STPM result CGPA 4.0), while 14 matriculation students manage to make it.

UPM

1. Medicine - A total 6 students enroll with STPM result (range from 3.92 to 4.0) but matriculation has 34 students with 4.0 results a lone manage enroll the same course.

2. Accountancy - For STPM students, 4 with CGPA 4.0, minimum score is 3 (1 student) and CGPA 4.0 is the mode. Matriculation has 33 students with CGPA 4.0 enrolled accountancy and the minimum score is 3.72. By statistic a lone, you can realize that STPM students are unlikely more than matriculation students.

I can list down much more. But I think it is enough to show matriculation students obviously has the upper hand in the public university application.

There is lonely 10% non bumiputra can enroll matriculation each year. Therefore, the non buimiputra STPM students is far more than matriculation students. However, the Chinese matriculation students that score CGPA 4.0 could be 3-4 times more than STPM students.

What is the logic behind this? Even a mediocre student can score 4.0 in matriculation which only a brilliant STPM students manage to score the same results.

The only explanation is matriculation exam is too easy to pass, to score distinction. Ther is no quality control of matriculation and the ministry of Higher Education has no plan to increase the matriculation standard to be the same par with STPM.

The aim of matriculation is to allow more bumiputra students to enroll public university with a easy and safe way. That was a practice of quota system which virtually is Chinese versus Chinese, Indian versus Indian with a same STPM results. So every races is figthing within their races of the limited places taht already allocated. Normally,Chinese is always facing the fierce competition among themselves under quota system.

The current condition is worse. Why? Two population students with a different standard of exam compete with each other. To make the condition worse, 2^nd and 3^rd tier students from matriculation can easily beat the first tier student from STPM in CGPA. It is already not a problem of which races obtain how many percent of varsity enrollment but a total lost of control of varsity education quality. This is more serious than the quota system practice. To let the unqualified students to drop out after the courses commence is just a waste of tax payer’s money.

If you are a STPM students or your children is studying STPM, you must mentally prepare a good STPM result really can not guarantee a place for the course that you want to enroll especially for the course like medicine, pharmacy and engineering.

There is a flaw of the varsity enrollment system and Ministry of Higher Education need to address it and create a true meritocracy. Only one major enrollment to the varsity should be allowed besides other qualifications.

I can guarantee, public university will start to climb back in the World university ranking once we practice a true meritocracy student intake system.

QS World University Rankings 2007-why Malaysia University not in Top 200?

In terms of the rankings, QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited managing director Nunzio Quacquarelli says Universiti Malaya (UM) is the highest ranked at 246, followed by Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) at 307, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) at 309 and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) at 364.
Quote from The Star Nov 11,2007


The released of the QS World University Rankings 2007 saw all of Malaysia University drop out of Top 200 for the first time. It is not just happen to our local university which has suffer a big drop, but China's university and Singapore university as well.
There has 4 changes of the methodology for 2007 ranking compare with last year. This may be the main reason why this year ranking has bigger changes than previous year. However, I believe 2007 ranking actually is the best reflects the truth so far.
Download the complte QS ranking 2007 here in MS word format.
Top 200 University ranking
Top 50 for Arts
Top 50 for Life Sciences
Top 50 for Natural Sciences
Top 50 for Social Sciences
Top 50 for Technology

What is the changes?
1. Peer review
The peer review for 2007 has restricted the academics to complete the survey in the favour of their own university. This will effect the country that has less university in the list as they can only review university other than his country according to QS explanation.
2. Changes of citation data
The main changes is the source of citation data from ESI (Thomson) to Scopus. However, QS claimed that Scopus database is less pronounced bias towards the US. Besides, Scopus covers a larger numbers of papers and journals and more sources in languages other than English.
3. Consistent usage of Full Time Equivalent data for personnel related data
Qs said there was reporting confusion of the number of faculty from a university. Therefore FTE is implemented and this indicator is more accurate.
4. Z-score aggregation
Z- score or normal score is replaced the scaled against top performer. Previous year, a small error of data collection for top university may affect other university ranking below. However, Z- score data error only effect the university itself and less influence ranking of other university.

Why Malaysia University drop in QS World University ranking
I do not have details of the score for each category of Malaysia University. Perhaps we can analyse from the 4 changes of methodology will affect our local university.
1. Peer review
Peer review is 40% of the overall score. I strongly believe all Malaysia university is score poorly in this area. Since our academics are not allowed to pick the university from their own country. Academics are asked to pick 30 university that they regard as the leaders in this field (science, bio medicine, technology, social science or the arts and humanities). So I believe the outcome of the result is less bias than previous year. To claim Malaysia is a small country and this method of evaluation is disadvantage to smaller country is totally not making any sense. Look at National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technology University (NTU)which score 100 and 84 respectively in peer review is the best answer for those who think this is the answer of Malaysia universities vanish from Top 200 list. Instead, we should ask why we are in the Top 200 last year because our academics have do the survey favour for their own university?
Note: NUS and NTU suffer poor score in Staff to student category result their drop in ranking.
2.Changes of citation data
OK, changing the citation data to Scopurs that cover more languages should be a good news to our local universities that previously complaint many of the research papers is written in Malay. Although, I don't know the exact score, we can presume it does not help much for the Malaysia universities to climb up the ranking. It also shown that local universities is weak in research and citation data that covered only in English is not the reason Malaysia universities rock bottom the table previous year.
3. The remaining two methodology only make the QS ranking more accurate and i believe is neutral to Malaysia university.

Other matters arise from QS ranking
1. UM vice-chancellor Datuk Rafiah Salim has claim the UM is back to No 1 in Malaysia and No 4 is South East Asia. We all know that NUS and NTU is both in the Top 200 list. Singapore Management University is unlikely to be included in the ranking survey, I strongly believe the South East Asia No 3 spot go to Thailand, Chulalongkorn University . Chulalongkorn University is in ranking 161 in 2006 and is rank 83 in Social Science and 100 in Technology. Click the link here.
2. Government(JPA) unwilling to recognised the degree from China and Taiwan university for many years. Universities from China and Taiwan have been consistently beaten our local university in the World university ranking. However, Malaysia is more willing to recognised degree from Indonesia and Egypt for example. I really can not understand what is the point to recognised the degree that is inferior to our local degree but ignore the higher standards one.

Perhaps, we no need to be too serious of the ranking as our local public universities not even pass for the fundamental things. Exam questions and notes is the same for many years, no interactive teaching method, quality of the lecturers , student selection method, Dean, administration of university that lack of education vision and much much more. Perhaps you can add in the comments.
I really can not understand how can we select students in two different of qualification, STPM and matriculation. STPM is accepted by Oxford, Matriculation? If both matriculation and STPM is open to all the students and yet there are students opt fro STPM, I can only say I admire their courage. However, everyone know it is not the case. I predict there will be no changes of the education unfairness for the next 50 years in Malaysia, although I hope it will not.
May be back to the basic of the education is the solution, not only for the ranking but for the future of our country.