Public universities still the top choice

WITH reference to your reports under the heading “Are private universities the way forward?” (Sunday Star, Jan 15), we must humbly disagree. We believe that for most parents, public university education is still the top choice. Although there are some good private universities coming up, in general terms we think that public universities are still offering some of the best courses and educational environment for students.

Every year, competition for entry into public universities is very tight. For some courses, even candidates with 4.0 scores are not chosen to enrol in the course of their choice. UM and USM, like other universities, are concise about entrance requirements. Prospective candidates for various courses are interviewed by faculty deans and senior lecturers to ensure “quality control” in addition to paper qualifications. With this more stringent selection process, these universities filter candidates, ensuring that enrolled undergraduates are somewhat more balanced besides being academically strong.