Student, parent recall anguish of being rejected

PETALING JAYA: After spending countless nights burning the midnight oil to achieve top grades, dreams of taking their first step towards achieving their ambitions came crashing down when they were denied seats at public institutions of higher learning.

Teenager Vincent Chong said his application for a foundation course at a public university to enable him to pursue his dream of becoming a veterinarian was turned down.

The car mechanic’s son said he was disappointed when he received the results of his application but is determined to appeal the decision

He told The Star he learnt that 10 of his friends from his former school in Subang Jaya, Selangor, were successful in securing places in matriculation programmes.

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“I feel left out because I am the only one among them who did not get a spot.

“I may not be a top scorer but I really need to get into a public university as my family is not wealthy enough to send me to a private college.

“I still yearn to achieve my dream of being a veterinarian.

“After all, I will remain in Malaysia and be serving the country,” said Vincent, who scored six As, two Bs and two Cs.

If his appeal fails, his father will have no choice but to take out a loan to pay for further studies, a move which will immensely burden his family, he said.

Civil servant A. Tamilmani, 51, whose daughter scored eight As and a B also expressed dismay after the teenager was informed she had been unsuccessful in obtaining a spot in the matriculation programme.

She said her daughter, who aspires to be a doctor, was extremely heartbroken upon receiving the bad news.

“It was her childhood dream to be a doctor and she is really down. After working so hard to obtain favourable results, she was still rejected.

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“We will appeal the decision and hope things come our way. Otherwise, we will be left in a dilemma.

“I really do not know what we can do apart from putting her through Form Six.

“We cannot afford to fund her to study medicine privately,” said Tamilmani, whose husband is also a civil servant.

Retired academician Datuk Omar Shawkataly said every school leaver should be given an opportunity to proceed to higher learning beyond SPM.

He said the government should cease to have two pre-university systems and merge it into a single option to be fair to all the candidates.

“It is ridiculous to have STPM and also matriculation programmes, especially when both are under one ministry,” he said, referring to the Education Ministry.

“One system requires the student to study for two years, while the other can be completed in just a year. How do we equate the scores then?

“Is a student with a CGPA of four from matriculation more superior that one with the same results in their STPM? It is unfair.

“We should go back to how it was in the old days when we had just the HSC,” he said, referring to the Higher School Certificate prior to the STPM.

“That way, it will be fair and everyone will have an opportunity for pre-university studies,” said the former Universiti Sains Malaysia chemistry professor.