Dr Teo Kok Seong, a former member of the National Education Advisory Council, said accepting the privately run independent Chinese high school certificate for entrance to Malaysian public universities would set a precedent for other examination syndicates to demand similar recognition.
He cited the UK-based A Levels which is not recognised for local university entrance.
“If the government refuses to (recognise A Levels), then it can be taken to court. Why recognise the UEC, but not the A Levels?” he asked.
He said the government must protect its own system, and warned that any move to recognise other certificates would marginalise the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM), the government examination for Form Six students.
“It will have no value. So we have to take care of our own system, with STPM being one of the requirements to enter local universities,” Teo added.
“We must protect those who trust and have confidence in our system.”
UEC is a standardised examination for Chinese independent high school students in Malaysia, and has been in place since 1975.
Although accepted by many universities abroad, it is not recognised in Malaysia with the exception of Sarawak.
In September 2015, the late Adenan Satem said the state would accept UEC from those seeking jobs in the civil service, as well as applicants for state scholarships.
Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he would instruct the education minister to carry out an in-depth study on the UEC. He told this to reporters at a Chinese New Year event in Kuching last week.
But Teo disagreed, saying the education ministry should only be concerned with three types of government schools – national, religious and vernacular.
“The UEC, on the other hand, is conducted by independent schools. Chinese independent schools are not under the ministry whether at the primary or secondary level,” Teo said.
“So why is it that when it comes to tertiary education, these Chinese independent schools want to fall under the purview of the government?”