UKM planning to up MUET requirements

BANGI: An increase in English language requirements is on the cards for Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

UKM vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mohd Hamdi Abd Shukor revealed that the public university is planning on up­­ping the Malaysian University English Test (MUET) requirements for their course intakes.“We might not be taking MUET Band One anymore, but it depends on courses,” he said in an exclusive interview with The Star.

For example, he said that the MUET requirement for engineering courses is a minimum Band Two but they plan on increasing it to Band Three.

He also said that there are students with Band One and quite a number with Band Two as well in UKM at the moment.

MUET classifies candidates according to six bands or levels of achievement, from highly proficient users (Band Six) to very limited users (Band One).

The new vice-chancellor, who began his three-year term on Jan 1, said they plan on implementing the new language requirements for their 2020/2021 intake.

Prof Mohd Hamdi said UKM is increasing the requirements so that they can create more quality graduates, adding that the move was made to address the common complaint among employers that local graduates lacked English communication skills.

He also said that UKM plans to have four English language courses, divided based on competency levels, for its students instead of the two that they currently have.

The students will be placed in their respective course after undergoing an English competency test.

“This will make the course more tailor-made and targeted (towards the student).

“Hopefully, after undergoing the required five credits, the students can increase their competency by at least one level,” he added.