This comes amid criticism from both sides of the political divide over last week’s Cabinet decision to increase the intake of matriculation students from 25,000 to 40,000 to enable more students to take up tertiary education.
At a special interview today ahead of Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) first anniversary in power, Maszlee said all students deserve a “better opportunity” when they apply for matriculation placement.
“The Bumiputeras will still enjoy their 90% quota,” he said when asked to comment on remarks that the announcement was just a “populist move”.
“We are giving more seats to the non-Bumiputeras compared to what have been given previously, for the first time.
“However, this will not be done at the expense of Bumiputera places.”
Maszlee said the Cabinet had instructed his ministry to discuss with the finance ministry how much it would cost the government to increase the number of matriculation places.
The matriculation programme is a one to two-year pre-university course that enables students to pursue a degree upon successful completion.
It is one of the most sought-after pre-university programmes as it is cost-effective. The participants only need to pay a registration fee and the rest is borne by the government.
Questions have been raised by several groups, including DAP, MCA and MIC, on quality control which they claimed may drop given the “sudden increase” of 15,000 students.
They also asked if the matriculation centres were able to accommodate the extra candidates and source additional lecturers and staff.
The groups said the increase of 13,500 places for Bumiputeras and only 1,500 for non-Bumiputeras was not fair, with Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism northern region coordinator K Sudhagaran Stanley describing it as “one of the worst moves” by the PH government.
Twenty DAP leaders said the government should abolish the programme in stages as a requirement for entering public universities.
If this was done, all ethnic groups would be able to have a fair starting point when they enter local universities, they said.
Maszlee pointed out that the matriculation programme was not the only way to enter public universities.
He said other entry qualifications included STPM and the “Pusat Asasi” programme, which is similar to foundation programmes at private universities.
On fears that the standard of the matriculation programme would drop, he said he was confident of the quality of the teachers.
“The lecturers at the matriculation centres and those teaching at the STPM level and at the Pusat Asasi are dedicating themselves to be the best in the nation,” he said.
“We also believe that our students are capable of excelling if we give them a chance and encourage them to do better.”
Asked whether competition would be stifled with the increase in the number of matriculation places, Maszlee said it was a Cabinet decision.