UA Form Six Prog Gets Encouraging Response, Over 5,000 Applications Received

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- The Public University Campus (UA) Form Six Programme introduced by the Ministry of Education (MOE) this year has received an encouraging response with a total of 5,537 applications received from Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) graduates for the first phase of intake.

Deputy Education Minister Wong Kah Woh said the pilot programme began on June 10 at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) which offer 100 and 60 places respectively.

"Of the total, 3,519 people applied for admission to the Science field while 2,018 people applied for Social Science," he said during a question-and-answer session at Dewan Negara today.

Wong said a total of 269 students were offered to attend the programme and as of July 31, 126 students had accepted the offer and were now continuing their studies at both institutions comprising 73 at UKM and 53 at USM. 

Responding to a question from Senator Datuk Sivaraj Chandran, Wong said the programme was not just a rebranding of form six, but was instead implemented with strict entry requirements to produce students with high-level thinking skills and prepared to face the challenges of digital technology and the global economy.

"This programme emphasises very strict entry qualifications, in addition to meeting the basic form six qualification requirements, candidates must also obtain at least 5A in SPM 2024 and a Physical, Sports and Co-Curricular Activities Assessment (PAJSK) score of 80 and above," he said. 

Wong said students in the programme followed the same syllabus and Sijil Tinggi Peperiksaan Malaysia (STPM) as regular form six, but were given exposure to the learning environment on university campuses which was one of the main added values ​​of the programme.

"This programme emphasises very strict entry qualifications, in addition to meeting the basic form six qualification requirements, candidates must also obtain at least 5A in SPM 2024 and a Physical, Sports and Co-Curricular Activities Assessment (PAJSK) score of 80 and above," he said. 

Meanwhile, in response to a question from Senator Tiew Way Keng, Wong said the Ministry of Education was still in the process of assessing the effectiveness of this pilot programme before making any decision on its expansion to other public universities.

"We are still in discussions with the public universities involved and if there is a final decision, the Ministry of Education will discuss or announce the decision so that next year our children from the SPM level can apply," he said.

Regarding the path of students after completing STPM at UKM and USM, Wong explained that they still have to apply through the University Admissions Unit (UPU) like other candidates if they want to continue their studies at the university, but will be given priority if they meet the eligibility requirements.

"The main advantage of students in this programme is that they will be marked as students of the Public University Campus Sixth Form Education Programme and from there given priority if they are eligible," he said.

-- BERNAMA