PUTRAJAYA: The Government will review the selection criteria for Public Services Department scholarships, said MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.He said a meeting would be held among Barisan Nasional component party leaders, the PSD director-general and the Chief Secretary to the Government today.
They will discuss the matter and reconsider rejected cases.
“All four MCA ministers had met with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to discuss the cases highlighted to us regarding the selection of PSD scholarship recipients.
“The same issue was also brought up at the Cabinet meeting. The Prime Minister has agreed to review the criteria,” he told a press conference here yesterday.
The MCA, he said, received many complaints where students considered the best in certain states were not selected for the scholarships.
“Instead, the moment they were informed about their unsuccessful bid to obtain scholarships to study overseas, the students were asked whether they would accept offers to study at local public universities or foreign universities based in Malaysia.
“This is a very serious situation where students do not get enough time to consider their decision,” he said, adding that such circumstances must be stopped.
Currently, Ong said, the selection is based on four criteria - merit (20%), race (60%), Sabah and Sarawak citizens (10%) and students from underprivileged groups (10%).
He said if meritocracy was part of the criteria, the students’ co-curriculum activities and interviews should not be included for consideration.
“Meritocracy means it should solely be the students’ results and not any other areas,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment