Merit System -can ah?

News was splashed all over. 128 top scorers can't secure a place in Local Universtities to do Medicine (or related) programs.

The government has make away with the old Quota system, and hence, introduced the merit system, using STPM and Matriculation as the based entry requirement. While matriculation has been all the while based on CGPA(Cumulative Grade Point Average), STPM students are judged based on one exam alone and it is still considered as CGPA (Cumulative? what is there to average out if it is based on one exam??)

Equal chances, yes. I am all in for it. To score a perfect 4.0 CGPA is tough. But, as tough as it seems to be, there is a handful of STPM students scoring the perfect 5A's. That is like every STPM student's dream come true, as with those results, it is near impossible for anyone with that results to be *rejected*.

Unfortunately, that is the case.

The paper wrote, that based on merit, of the 779 candidates who got into medicine in public universities, 439 (56.4%) were Malays, 297 (38.1%) Chinese and 43 (5.5%) Indians. DPM was asking that all parties not politicise the issue...

Only a few days ago, the Health Minister asked that all 128 top scorer be admitted to the Universities. Even Keeran's fav minister voiced his concern.

Health Deputy Minister chipped in and say to take only those with real interest. Now, how do we define REAL interest? My batch mate, OP Iqbal Farim, is getting bored of the whole thing (actually, just ER work). This is like after spending close to 11 years doing and reading on this. Rather subjective, isn't it?

Trust the politicians to politicise these all further.

And, all these won't go unnoticed, as one lower six student points out.

Then, some of them comes out with their own theory and reasons


Now, the thing is, all these has been debated and has been happening for the longest time. I was offered to do Biology in UKM after my Form 6; that is absurb as i did Double Maths in Form 6 and didn't even read any Biology except in Form 5! I rejected the offers, and went forth with whatever interested me that that point of time. Well, that is history, as you all know that by now.

Ah...well...we'll just see how things will go from here, from now. Oh sorry, i just heard one more politician saying that the number can't be increased because it will cause the standard of the universities to further degrade.

He meant that it is already degraded? No wonder why parents nowadays prefer to send their kids overseas, and those left behind and can't afford it, has to struggle through whatever means there is, just to get that piece of paper that will tell their future employer about their achievement in Universities.

Well, for a start, that piece of paper doesn't tell how WELL and how GOOD he/she will be working as an adult, isn't it?