PETALING JAYA: While the traditional UPU merit-based system remains the main pathway into public universities, the open admission channel has emerged as a growing trend among students seeking places in competitive undergraduate courses, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The MCA president said this raises questions of fairness, as difference in tuition fees between the two systems is considerable, with charges for engineering degrees up to 10 times higher and up to 30 times higher for medical studies under the open channel.
"The main competition for entry into critical courses now lies between the mainstream UPU channel and the open channel.
"This must be examined from the perspective of social justice. Admission policies must not discriminate against poor students who cannot afford the exorbitant fees," he said in a Facebook post on Friday (Sept 5).
Dr Wee, who is also Ayer Hitam MP, said he had asked the Higher Education Ministry to provide statistics to compare the intake of local and international students at research universities, particularly Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), since the introduction of the open channel policy.
He also sought clarification on admissions to critical and competitive courses, taking into account both the UPU merit-based route and the open channel.
According to the ministry's written reply, a total of 1,771 undergraduate students were admitted into law, dentistry, medicine and pharmacy studies across UM, USM, UKM and UPM in 2024. Only a small number were international students.
Law recorded 538 admissions, including two foreigners; dentistry saw 154 enrolments, with one foreign student; medicine admitted 782 students, of whom eight were foreigners while pharmacy had 297 students, all of them Malaysians.
"Statistics show that not many foreign students are enrolled in these fields.
"What is concerning is the sharp increase in international intake for electrical and electronic engineering at UKM this year, as I raised in Parliament last month," he said, asking the ministry and UKM for clarification.
Dr Wee said the inconsistent policy warrants government attention, especially to ensure that the admission of foreign students does not come at the expense of local applicants.
He said higher education policies must prioritise fairness and transparency while safeguarding equal access for Malaysians regardless of socio-economic background.
"This is an important policy issue the government must look into. Social justice and equal access to education must remain at the heart of higher education policy," he added.
