The DAP vice-chairman said despite Najib’s assertion that his administration had taken measures to ensure greater Indian enrolment in matriculation and tertiary institutions, there was suspicion surrounding the intake of apparently qualified students.
He said Najib’s claims about his administration’s initiatives smacked of political expediency rather than principled concern.
He said there were eligible Indian students who were not being given seats in the academic fields of their choice.
“For example, if their choice is medicine and if they have the appropriate grade point average, the student fails to gain admission to a medical seat and is instead given a place to do an unconnected course, causing much frustration to the applicant,” he said.
He alleged that there had also been instances where foreigners gained admission to Mara institutions while deserving students from local minorities were not accommodated.
“Will the prime minster have the courage to correct this lopsided admission process?” Kulasegaran said in a statement today.
“Why hasn’t the government held up the university admission process to public scrutiny?
“There is a legitimate concern that under-qualified students have been admitted to local universities due to insider connections,” he added.
He also said the admission interview board should comprise people of all races and not be restricted to one race only.
Yesterday, Najib, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, said he had recognised that something needed to be done to help the Indian community in education.
He said this was the reason his administration had allocated 1,500 seats in the matriculation programme for them which had never been done before he became prime minister in 2009.
He said he had also instructed his administration to add another 700 extra spots for Indian students in institutions of higher learning recently.
Najib had also criticised the meritocracy policy introduced in 2002 when Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is now PPBM chairman, was prime minister, saying it did nothing to help Indians enter the institutions.
Kulasegaran said Najib’s claims that Indian intake would drop if the meritocracy criteria were applied was intriguing.
“The PM seems intent on conveying the impression that after eight and a half years in the saddle, he is focused on being the prime facilitator of the economic and social advancement of Indians,” he said.